Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Trading 0.5% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT - Get Free Report) traded up 0.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Baird R W upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating. The company traded as high as $466.76 and last traded at $465.88. 160,523 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 1,244,314 shares. The stock had previously closed at $463.55.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised Lockheed Martin from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $575.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Lockheed Martin from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the company from $611.00 to $523.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of Lockheed Martin from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $550.00 to $480.00 in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $476.00 to $432.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Lockheed Martin from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $685.00 to $485.00 in a report on Monday, March 24th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lockheed Martin presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $544.79.

Insider Transactions at Lockheed Martin

In related news, insider Robert M. Lightfoot, Jr. sold 3,213 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $442.42, for a total transaction of $1,421,495.46. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Harry Edward Paul III sold 707 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $442.61, for a total transaction of $312,925.27. Following the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 7,133 shares of company stock valued at $3,155,916. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lockheed Martin

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. JNBA Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 38.5% during the first quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors now owns 162 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 251.0% in the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 4,549 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,032,000 after buying an additional 3,253 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Capital LLC boosted its stake in Lockheed Martin by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Cypress Capital LLC now owns 5,368 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,398,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Lockheed Martin by 31.6% during the first quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 658 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $294,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 4.7% during the first quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 2,428 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,085,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. 74.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lockheed Martin Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $112.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company's 50 day moving average price is $455.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $492.43.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.34 by $0.94. The business had revenue of $17.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.83 billion. Lockheed Martin had a net margin of 7.51% and a return on equity of 101.47%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Lockheed Martin Co. will post 27.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lockheed Martin Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $3.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. Lockheed Martin's dividend payout ratio is presently 57.02%.

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.