Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation, eight have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $611.00.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $635.00 target price on shares of Lockheed Martin in a report on Friday, August 30th. Melius upgraded Lockheed Martin from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $704.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Lockheed Martin from $519.00 to $626.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $503.00 to $599.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Lockheed Martin from $675.00 to $665.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd.

Lockheed Martin Stock Performance

Shares of LMT stock opened at $521.48 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $571.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $528.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.61 billion, a PE ratio of 18.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.43 and a beta of 0.49. Lockheed Martin has a 52-week low of $413.92 and a 52-week high of $618.95.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.50 by $0.34. Lockheed Martin had a return on equity of 101.44% and a net margin of 9.36%. The business had revenue of $17.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.77 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Lockheed Martin 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $3.30 per share. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.53%. 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 47.79%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lockheed Martin

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,827,645 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,816,898,000 after acquiring an additional 83,997 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in Lockheed Martin by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,389,025 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,981,088,000 after purchasing an additional 209,591 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 8.5% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,942,658 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $902,714,000 after purchasing an additional 31,545 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 60,592.0% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.19% of the company’s stock.

Lockheed Martin Company Profile

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.