Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Trading 0.7% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) traded up 0.7% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $475.69 and last traded at $472.40. 169,228 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 1,101,186 shares. The stock had previously closed at $469.28.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group lowered their price target on Lockheed Martin from $527.00 to $508.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays lowered their price target on Lockheed Martin from $565.00 to $515.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Lockheed Martin from $590.00 to $550.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $611.00 to $523.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lockheed Martin has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $554.20.

Lockheed Martin Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10. The firm has a market cap of $110.24 billion, a PE ratio of 21.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.43. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $461.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $516.79.

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

Lockheed Martin Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $3.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. Lockheed Martin’s payout ratio is 59.30%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Robert M. Lightfoot, Jr. sold 3,213 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $442.42, for a total value of $1,421,495.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $884,840. This trade represents a 61.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Harry Edward Paul III sold 707 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $442.61, for a total transaction of $312,925.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,008,265.58. The trade was a 23.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,133 shares of company stock worth $3,155,916 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lockheed Martin

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LMT. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Lockheed Martin by 53,784.3% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,235,568 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $600,412,000 after purchasing an additional 1,233,275 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Lockheed Martin by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,471,071 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,630,492,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132,461 shares during the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lockheed Martin during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $526,587,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lockheed Martin during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $451,985,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 1,239.6% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 548,237 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $266,410,000 after acquiring an additional 507,312 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.19% of the company’s stock.

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.