Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Trading 0.6% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT)’s stock price traded up 0.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $480.00 to $505.00. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Lockheed Martin traded as high as $530.75 and last traded at $530.57. 202,481 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 1,078,678 shares. The stock had previously closed at $527.64.

LMT has been the topic of a number of other reports. StockNews.com raised Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Lockheed Martin from $540.00 to $565.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $518.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Lockheed Martin from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $540.00 to $600.00 in a research report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $511.00 to $538.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $517.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Timothy S. Cahill sold 3,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $515.36, for a total value of $2,048,556.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,877 shares in the company, valued at $4,574,850.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lockheed Martin

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. First Pacific Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Lockheed Martin during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Lockheed Martin during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Wiser Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 65.8% during the first quarter. Wiser Advisor Group LLC now owns 63 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Lockheed Martin in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 48.9% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 67 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.19% of the company’s stock.

Lockheed Martin Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $470.80 and a 200 day moving average of $454.41. The firm has a market cap of $126.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.41, a P/E/G ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.45 by $0.66. Lockheed Martin had a return on equity of 95.03% and a net margin of 9.48%. The company had revenue of $18.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.05 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.73 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lockheed Martin Co. will post 26.26 EPS for the current year.

Lockheed Martin Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $3.15 per share. This represents a $12.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. Lockheed Martin’s payout ratio is 46.10%.

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.