Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Shares Down 0.7% Following Analyst Downgrade

Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) dropped 0.7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $497.00 to $468.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Lockheed Martin traded as low as $441.75 and last traded at $445.54. Approximately 277,217 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 1,548,931 shares. The stock had previously closed at $448.46.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Lockheed Martin in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $579.00 price target on the stock. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $590.00 to $550.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Lockheed Martin from $527.00 to $508.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $555.00 to $525.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $553.67.

Institutional Trading of Lockheed Martin

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LMT. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Lockheed Martin by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,471,071 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,630,492,000 after acquiring an additional 1,132,461 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Lockheed Martin by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,887,242 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,374,557,000 after purchasing an additional 59,597 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 6.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,389,025 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,981,088,000 after purchasing an additional 209,591 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Lockheed Martin by 8.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,074,855 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,797,437,000 after buying an additional 240,306 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,260,910 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,098,667,000 after buying an additional 134,662 shares during the period. 74.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lockheed Martin Trading Down 0.6 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $468.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $527.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $104.89 billion, a PE ratio of 20.01, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.13.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The aerospace company reported $7.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.58 by $1.09. Lockheed Martin had a net margin of 7.51% and a return on equity of 101.47%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lockheed Martin Co. will post 27.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Lockheed Martin Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $3.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.96%. Lockheed Martin’s payout ratio is 59.30%.

About Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin Corporation, a security and aerospace company, engages in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration, and sustainment of technology systems, products, and services worldwide. The company operates through Aeronautics, Missiles and Fire Control, Rotary and Mission Systems, and Space segments.