Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Trading Down 0.8% – Should You Sell?

Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT)’s stock price was down 0.8% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $477.31 and last traded at $479.24. Approximately 333,482 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 1,084,587 shares. The stock had previously closed at $482.94.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on LMT shares. StockNews.com upgraded Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $589.00 to $603.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Melius upgraded shares of Lockheed Martin from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $704.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $675.00 to $665.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Lockheed Martin from $600.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lockheed Martin presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $612.29.

Lockheed Martin Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $114.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.46. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $545.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $533.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.50 by $0.34. Lockheed Martin had a return on equity of 101.44% and a net margin of 9.36%. The firm had revenue of $17.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.38 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.77 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lockheed Martin Co. will post 26.88 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $3.30 dividend. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. This is a boost from Lockheed Martin’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.79%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lockheed Martin

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LMT. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Lockheed Martin by 60,592.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,559,178 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $911,433,000 after buying an additional 1,556,609 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 56,626.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,021,081 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $476,947,000 after buying an additional 1,019,281 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 124.0% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 450,870 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $263,561,000 after buying an additional 249,591 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake 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 buying an additional 240,306 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 6.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,389,025 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,981,088,000 after acquiring an additional 209,591 shares during the period. 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.