Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Trading Up 2.7% – Here’s Why

Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT)’s share price was up 2.7% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $662.47 and last traded at $659.2410. Approximately 2,586,777 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 34% from the average daily volume of 1,925,786 shares. The stock had previously closed at $641.63.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on LMT. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $615.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered Lockheed Martin from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 8th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Lockheed Martin from $550.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Lockheed Martin from $592.00 to $673.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $492.00 to $611.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lockheed Martin currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $612.50.

Lockheed Martin Trading Up 2.7%

The stock has a market cap of $151.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $578.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $508.04.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $5.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.53). The firm had revenue of $20.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.84 billion. Lockheed Martin had a return on equity of 108.53% and a net margin of 6.69%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $7.67 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Lockheed Martin Corporation will post 27.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lockheed Martin Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a $3.45 dividend. This represents a $13.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. Lockheed Martin’s payout ratio is 64.22%.

Institutional Trading of Lockheed Martin

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Basso Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Lockheed Martin during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. United Financial Planning Group LLC purchased a new position in Lockheed Martin in the third quarter worth $25,000. Clarity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lockheed Martin during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Triumph Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 66.7% during the 4th quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 55 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 285.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 54 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. 74.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lockheed Martin Company Profile

Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT) is a global aerospace and defense company that designs, develops and manufactures advanced technology systems for government and commercial customers. Formed through the 1995 merger of Lockheed Corporation and Martin Marietta, the company is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, and focuses on providing integrated solutions across air, space, land and sea domains. Its primary customers include the U.S. Department of Defense, NASA and allied governments around the world.

Lockheed Martin’s product and service portfolio spans military aircraft, missile and fire-control systems, missile defense, space systems and satellite technologies, sensors and precision weapons.