Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Shares Down 0.8% – Here’s Why

Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT)’s stock price dropped 0.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $453.41 and last traded at $456.57. Approximately 437,028 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 60% from the average daily volume of 1,104,429 shares. The stock had previously closed at $460.42.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LMT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Lockheed Martin from $555.00 to $525.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $700.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $540.00 to $535.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $497.00 to $468.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $611.00 to $523.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $553.67.

Lockheed Martin Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.13. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $463.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $522.84. The firm has a market cap of $108.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.43.

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

Lockheed Martin Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $3.30 dividend. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Lockheed Martin’s payout ratio is 59.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Harry Edward Paul III sold 707 shares of Lockheed Martin stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 2,278 shares in the company, valued at $1,008,265.58. The trade was a 23.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert M. Lightfoot, Jr. sold 3,213 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $442.42, for a total transaction of $1,421,495.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $884,840. This trade represents a 61.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,133 shares of company stock valued at $3,155,916 in the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lockheed Martin

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Lockheed Martin in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Lockheed Martin in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Lockheed Martin in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Lockheed Martin during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Lockheed Martin during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.