Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Trading Up 0.6% – Here’s What Happened

Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) was up 0.6% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $461.88 and last traded at $455.43. Approximately 602,817 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 50% from the average daily volume of 1,209,415 shares. The stock had previously closed at $452.87.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LMT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America cut Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $685.00 to $485.00 in a research report on Monday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Lockheed Martin from $540.00 to $535.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Melius downgraded shares of Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Barclays dropped 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Melius Research cut Lockheed Martin from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $539.53.

Lockheed Martin Trading Down 4.9 %

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $451.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $506.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10. The stock has a market cap of $101.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.44, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.39.

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

Lockheed Martin Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $3.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.05%. Lockheed Martin’s payout ratio is 59.30%.

Insider Transactions at Lockheed Martin

In other news, insider Robert M. Lightfoot, Jr. sold 3,213 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $884,840. This trade represents a 61.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Harry Edward Paul III sold 707 shares of Lockheed Martin stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $442.61, for a total transaction of $312,925.27. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,008,265.58. The trade was a 23.69 % 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 over the last ninety days. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lockheed Martin

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lockheed Martin during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,840,000. Morse Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 1.0% in the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 3,058 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,788,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Lockheed Martin by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 88,472 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $51,717,000 after purchasing an additional 2,350 shares during the period. SYM FINANCIAL Corp bought a new stake in shares of Lockheed Martin during the third quarter valued at about $240,000. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 11.7% in the third quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 142,259 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $83,159,000 after purchasing an additional 14,887 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.