Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Trading Up 2.3% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) were up 2.3% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $466.39 and last traded at $466.2670. Approximately 1,176,030 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 26% from the average daily volume of 1,580,977 shares. The stock had previously closed at $455.85.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LMT. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lockheed Martin in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Lockheed Martin from $514.00 to $513.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Lockheed Martin from $398.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $520.00 to $465.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $513.47.

Lockheed Martin Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.32. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $484.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $467.04. The stock has a market cap of $107.89 billion, a PE ratio of 26.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.25.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The aerospace company reported $6.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.33 by $0.62. The business had revenue of $18.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.45 billion. Lockheed Martin had a return on equity of 111.84% and a net margin of 5.73%.Lockheed Martin’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.84 EPS. Lockheed Martin has set its FY 2025 guidance at 22.150-22.350 EPS. Analysts expect that Lockheed Martin Corporation will post 27.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Lockheed Martin Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st will be paid a $3.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. This is a positive change from Lockheed Martin’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.30. This represents a $13.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Lockheed Martin’s payout ratio is presently 77.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lockheed Martin news, COO John Frank A. St sold 7,792 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.04, for a total transaction of $3,826,183.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 1 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $491.04. This represents a 99.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lockheed Martin

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Tableaux LLC increased its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 34,231.4% during the 2nd quarter. Tableaux LLC now owns 623,115 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $288,589,000 after purchasing an additional 621,300 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,031,528 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,587,444,000 after buying an additional 560,457 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lockheed Martin during the first quarter valued at approximately $221,790,000. Sanders Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Lockheed Martin during the third quarter valued at approximately $252,699,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Lockheed Martin by 286.1% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 503,428 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $251,316,000 after acquiring an additional 373,027 shares during the period. 74.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.