Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Shares Down 0.1% – Should You Sell?

Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT)’s stock price traded down 0.1% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $492.18 and last traded at $496.22. 193,367 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 1,080,399 shares. The stock had previously closed at $496.58.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $602.00 to $543.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Melius Research upgraded shares of Lockheed Martin to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Citigroup boosted their target price on Lockheed Martin from $570.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Lockheed Martin from $600.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $612.29.

Lockheed Martin Stock Performance

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 cap of $117.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.97, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $555.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $531.74.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.50 by $0.34. Lockheed Martin had a net margin of 9.36% and a return on equity of 101.44%. The company had revenue of $17.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.77 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Lockheed Martin Co. will post 26.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lockheed Martin Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $3.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. This is an increase from Lockheed Martin’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.15. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio is 47.79%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lockheed Martin

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,827,645 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,816,898,000 after purchasing an additional 83,997 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 6.6% during the third 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 boosted its position in Lockheed Martin by 8.5% during 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 buying an additional 240,306 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 1.7% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,942,658 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $902,714,000 after acquiring an additional 31,545 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 60,592.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,556,609 shares during the period. 74.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.