Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Trading Up 0.3% - Time to Buy?

Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT - Get Free Report) traded up 0.3% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $488.73 and last traded at $488.13. 375,892 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 1,097,260 shares. The stock had previously closed at $486.49.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LMT. Susquehanna cut their price target on Lockheed Martin from $705.00 to $695.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Lockheed Martin from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Bank of America restated a "buy" rating and issued a $635.00 price target on shares of Lockheed Martin in a research report on Friday, August 30th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $560.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $560.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $612.29.

Lockheed Martin Stock Up 0.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The company has a market capitalization of $115.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.67, a P/E/G ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.46. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $536.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $533.96.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.50 by $0.34. Lockheed Martin had a return on equity of 101.44% and a net margin of 9.36%. The business had revenue of $17.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.38 billion. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.77 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Lockheed Martin Co. will post 26.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lockheed Martin Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $3.30 per share. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. This is a positive change from Lockheed Martin's previous quarterly dividend of $3.15. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Lockheed Martin's payout ratio is presently 47.79%.

Institutional Trading of Lockheed Martin

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LMT. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,827,645 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,816,898,000 after buying an additional 83,997 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Lockheed Martin by 6.6% during the 3rd 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% during the 3rd 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 period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,942,658 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $902,714,000 after purchasing an additional 31,545 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 60,592.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,559,178 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $911,433,000 after purchasing an additional 1,556,609 shares during the period. 74.19% of the stock is currently 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.