Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $537.00 and last traded at $535.0910, with a volume of 431216 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $511.57.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on shares of Lockheed Martin in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $550.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Lockheed Martin from $440.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered Lockheed Martin from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $515.00 price objective (up previously from $465.00) on shares of Lockheed Martin in a report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Lockheed Martin from $514.00 to $513.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $506.18.

Lockheed Martin Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.32. The stock has a market cap of $122.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.24. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $471.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $466.59.

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

Lockheed Martin Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were given a dividend of $3.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $13.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. This is a boost from Lockheed Martin’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.30. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio is 77.05%.

Insider Transactions at Lockheed Martin

In other news, COO John Frank A. St sold 7,792 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief operating officer owned 1 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $491.04. This trade represents a 99.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lockheed Martin

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. United Financial Planning Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lockheed Martin in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 285.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 54 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Lockheed Martin in the third quarter worth $27,000. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lockheed Martin during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Lockheed Martin in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. 74.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lockheed Martin Company Profile

Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT) is a global aerospace and defense company that designs, develops and manufactures advanced technology systems for government and commercial customers. Formed through the 1995 merger of Lockheed Corporation and Martin Marietta, the company is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, and focuses on providing integrated solutions across air, space, land and sea domains. Its primary customers include the U.S. Department of Defense, NASA and allied governments around the world.

Lockheed Martin’s product and service portfolio spans military aircraft, missile and fire-control systems, missile defense, space systems and satellite technologies, sensors and precision weapons.