Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Stock Price Down 0.7% – Time to Sell?

Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) shares dropped 0.7% on Monday . The company traded as low as $531.19 and last traded at $531.19. Approximately 163,867 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 1,059,383 shares. The stock had previously closed at $534.83.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LMT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Lockheed Martin from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $570.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $519.00 to $626.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $635.00 price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin in a research note on Friday, August 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $611.00.

Lockheed Martin Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $126.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 0.49. The company’s 50 day moving average is $574.83 and its 200-day moving average is $526.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $17.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.77 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Lockheed Martin Co. will post 26.89 EPS for the current year.

Lockheed Martin Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $3.30 per share. This is an increase from Lockheed Martin’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.15. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.62%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LMT. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 60,592.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,559,178 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $911,433,000 after purchasing an additional 1,556,609 shares during the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 56,626.7% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,021,081 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $476,947,000 after purchasing an additional 1,019,281 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 124.0% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 450,870 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $263,561,000 after purchasing an additional 249,591 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 8.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,074,855 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,797,437,000 after purchasing an additional 240,306 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 29.7% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 953,285 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $433,621,000 after purchasing an additional 218,506 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.19% of the company’s stock.

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.