Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Trading Up 0.4% – Time to Buy?

Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) shares rose 0.4% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $439.35 and last traded at $436.64. Approximately 322,640 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 1,138,119 shares. The stock had previously closed at $434.98.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on LMT. Melius cut Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $565.00 to $515.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $540.00 to $535.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of Lockheed Martin from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $550.00 to $480.00 in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Melius Research downgraded shares of Lockheed Martin from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $539.53.

Lockheed Martin Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $458.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $512.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market cap of $104.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.84, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.43.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The aerospace company reported $7.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.58 by $1.09. Lockheed Martin had a net margin of 7.51% and a return on equity of 101.47%. Sell-side analysts expect that Lockheed Martin Co. will post 27.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lockheed Martin Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $3.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lockheed Martin

In other news, VP Harry Edward Paul III sold 707 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $442.61, for a total transaction of $312,925.27. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,278 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,008,265.58. This represents a 23.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Robert M. Lightfoot, Jr. sold 3,213 shares of Lockheed Martin stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $442.42, for a total value of $1,421,495.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $884,840. This represents a 61.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,133 shares of company stock worth $3,155,916 in the last quarter. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lockheed Martin

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Lockheed Martin during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lockheed Martin in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Lockheed Martin in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lockheed Martin during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new position in Lockheed Martin during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. 74.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.