Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Shares Up 0.1% After Analyst Upgrade

Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT)’s share price shot up 0.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday after TD Cowen raised their price target on the stock from $560.00 to $610.00. TD Cowen currently has a buy rating on the stock. Lockheed Martin traded as high as $573.93 and last traded at $571.77. 249,125 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 1,050,761 shares. The stock had previously closed at $571.10.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on LMT. Melius Research upgraded Lockheed Martin to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $705.00 to $695.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $600.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Lockheed Martin from $560.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $589.00 to $603.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lockheed Martin has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.71.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lockheed Martin

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LMT. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 2,100 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,229,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC now owns 17,849 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $10,814,000 after acquiring an additional 2,118 shares during the last quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Lockheed Martin by 69.6% in the 3rd quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,028 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $601,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares during the period. Autumn Glory Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 172.3% during the third quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC now owns 2,777 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,623,000 after purchasing an additional 1,757 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 67.4% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 89,817 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $52,503,000 after purchasing an additional 36,157 shares during the last quarter. 74.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lockheed Martin Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $135.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.64, a P/E/G ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $579.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $513.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.50 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $17.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.38 billion. Lockheed Martin had a net margin of 9.48% and a return on equity of 95.03%. The company’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 posted $6.77 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Lockheed Martin Co. will post 26.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lockheed Martin Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $3.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. This is a positive change from Lockheed Martin’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.15. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.30%.

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.