Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Melius raised shares of Lockheed Martin from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $704.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $635.00 target price on shares of Lockheed Martin in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted 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. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $560.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Lockheed Martin has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $611.00.

Lockheed Martin Price Performance

NYSE:LMT opened at $513.03 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $121.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $562.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $531.55. Lockheed Martin has a 1-year low of $413.92 and a 1-year high of $618.95.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.50 by $0.34. Lockheed Martin had a net margin of 9.36% and a return on equity of 101.44%. The firm had revenue of $17.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.77 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Lockheed Martin will post 26.94 EPS for the current year.

Lockheed Martin Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $3.30 dividend. This is a positive change from Lockheed Martin’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.15. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Lockheed Martin’s payout ratio is 47.79%.

Institutional Trading of Lockheed Martin

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LMT. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Lockheed Martin during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lockheed Martin during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Sachetta LLC grew its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 50.0% during the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 60 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC grew its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 48.9% during the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 67 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Burkett Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lockheed Martin during the third quarter worth about $32,000. 74.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.