Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Shares Up 1.1% – Here’s Why

Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT)’s share price shot up 1.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $531.00 and last traded at $530.0950. Approximately 1,071,496 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 28% from the average session volume of 1,483,353 shares. The stock had previously closed at $524.46.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on LMT shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Lockheed Martin from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Lockheed Martin from $641.00 to $691.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $600.00 target price on shares of Lockheed Martin in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Lockheed Martin in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $700.00 target price on shares of Lockheed Martin in a report on Friday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $637.56.

Lockheed Martin Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $556.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $567.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34. The company has a market cap of $122.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.54, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.10.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The aerospace company reported $7.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.22 by $0.72. Lockheed Martin had a return on equity of 91.42% and a net margin of 8.16%.The firm had revenue of $20.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.34 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.46 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. Lockheed Martin has set its FY 2026 guidance at 29.950-30.650 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Lockheed Martin Corporation will post 30.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lockheed Martin Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a dividend of $3.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $13.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.87%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lockheed Martin

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,995 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,941,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 5.4% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 973 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $451,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 17.3% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 1,460 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $676,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 36.0% in the second quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 2,250 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,042,000 after purchasing an additional 595 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 18.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 86,569 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $40,092,000 after purchasing an additional 13,300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.19% of the company’s stock.

About Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin Corporation is a global aerospace, defense and technology company that develops and produces systems for government and commercial customers, with the U.S. Department of Defense serving as its largest customer. Its principal business areas include Aeronautics, Missiles and Fire Control, Rotary and Mission Systems, and Space.

The company’s products and services include military aircraft such as the F-35 Lightning II, F-16 and C-130; air and missile defense systems; precision weapons; helicopters and maritime systems; radar, sensors and command-and-control technologies; satellites; space exploration systems; and missile-warning and strategic defense capabilities.

Lockheed Martin was created in 1995 through the merger of Lockheed Corporation and Martin Marietta.