Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the fifteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $553.67.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LMT. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $590.00 to $550.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com downgraded Lockheed Martin from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $565.00 to $515.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $700.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Lockheed Martin from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $611.00 to $523.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd.

Lockheed Martin Stock Performance

LMT traded up $3.73 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $450.19. 1,432,091 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,574,859. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.97 billion, a PE ratio of 20.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.48. The company's 50-day moving average is $465.79 and its 200 day moving average is $524.83. Lockheed Martin has a 52 week low of $419.70 and a 52 week high of $618.95.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The aerospace company reported $7.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Lockheed Martin will post 27.15 EPS for the current year.

Lockheed Martin Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $3.30 per share. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Lockheed Martin's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Robert M. Lightfoot, Jr. sold 3,213 shares of Lockheed Martin stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $442.42, for a total value of $1,421,495.46. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $884,840. The trade was a 61.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Harry Edward Paul III sold 707 shares of Lockheed Martin stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $442.61, for a total value of $312,925.27. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,278 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,008,265.58. This trade represents a 23.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,133 shares of company stock valued at $3,155,916 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lockheed Martin

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,132,461 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Lockheed Martin by 1.2% in 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 during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Lockheed Martin by 6.6% in 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 last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake 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 valued at $1,797,437,000 after purchasing an additional 240,306 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Lockheed Martin by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,260,910 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,098,667,000 after purchasing an additional 134,662 shares during the last quarter. 74.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lockheed Martin Company Profile

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.