Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $466.74, but opened at $478.09. Lockheed Martin shares last traded at $478.18, with a volume of 560,232 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LMT. StockNews.com cut shares of Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $555.00 to $525.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective 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. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $565.00 to $515.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Lockheed Martin in a research report on Monday, March 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $554.20.

Lockheed Martin Trading Down 6.9 %

The firm has a market cap of $102.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.43. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $461.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $516.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.13.

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

Lockheed Martin Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $3.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Robert M. Lightfoot, Jr. sold 3,213 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $442.42, for a total transaction of $1,421,495.46. Following the sale, the insider now owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $884,840. This represents a 61.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Harry Edward Paul III sold 707 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $442.61, for a total transaction of $312,925.27. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,278 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,008,265.58. This trade represents a 23.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,133 shares of company stock worth $3,155,916 over the last quarter. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Lockheed Martin by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,471,071 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,630,492,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132,461 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Lockheed Martin by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,887,242 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,374,557,000 after purchasing an additional 59,597 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Lockheed Martin by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,389,025 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,981,088,000 after purchasing an additional 209,591 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position 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 worth $1,797,437,000 after purchasing an additional 240,306 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,260,910 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,098,667,000 after acquiring an additional 134,662 shares in the last quarter. 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.