Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Shares Down 1.3% – Should You Sell?

Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) was down 1.3% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $555.27 and last traded at $556.9490. 1,259,570 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 17% from the average daily volume of 1,512,521 shares. The stock had previously closed at $564.14.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on LMT shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Lockheed Martin from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Citigroup increased their target price on Lockheed Martin from $641.00 to $691.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $581.00 target price on shares of Lockheed Martin in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $700.00 price target on Lockheed Martin in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Lockheed Martin from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $632.39.

Lockheed Martin Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $130.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.10. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $549.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $574.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.19.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $20.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.34 billion. Lockheed Martin had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 91.42%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. Lockheed Martin has set its FY 2026 guidance at 29.950-30.650 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Lockheed Martin Corporation will post 30.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lockheed Martin Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a $3.45 dividend. This represents a $13.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio is 50.87%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lockheed Martin

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 1,972.7% during the 2nd quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 228 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $116,000 after buying an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 14.5% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 29,010 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $14,779,000 after purchasing an additional 3,677 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 412,521 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $210,163,000 after purchasing an additional 18,971 shares during the last quarter. Groupe la Francaise lifted its stake in Lockheed Martin by 95.7% in the 2nd quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 90 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in Lockheed Martin in the 2nd quarter worth about $55,695,000. 74.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.