Wells Fargo & Company Boosts Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Price Target to $476.00

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT - Free Report) had its price objective boosted by Wells Fargo & Company from $468.00 to $476.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the aerospace company's stock.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on LMT. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Lockheed Martin from $570.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Lockheed Martin from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $611.00 to $523.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com cut Lockheed Martin from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays cut their target price on 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. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $700.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $554.20.

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Lockheed Martin Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LMT traded up $12.81 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $474.31. The stock had a trading volume of 2,168,686 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,114,230. The company has a market capitalization of $111.65 billion, a PE ratio of 21.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.43. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $462.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $521.59. Lockheed Martin has a 1 year low of $419.70 and a 1 year high of $618.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The aerospace company reported $7.67 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Lockheed Martin will post 27.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lockheed Martin Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $3.30 per share. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Lockheed Martin's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Harry Edward Paul III sold 707 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Robert M. Lightfoot, Jr. sold 3,213 shares of the business's 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 2,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $884,840. The trade was a 61.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,133 shares of company stock valued at $3,155,916 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Lockheed Martin

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LMT. Forte Capital LLC ADV increased its position in Lockheed Martin by 23.1% in the 3rd quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 1,401 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $819,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC increased its position in Lockheed Martin by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 2,303 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,346,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Advisor Resource Council acquired a new position in Lockheed Martin in the 3rd quarter valued at about $305,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Lockheed Martin by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 270,879 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $158,345,000 after acquiring an additional 10,358 shares during the period. Finally, Montecito Bank & Trust increased its position in Lockheed Martin by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 629 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $368,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. 74.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.