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

Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) fell 0.1% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $488.11 and last traded at $491.38. 303,259 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 1,082,166 shares. The stock had previously closed at $491.65.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $570.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com raised Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $675.00 to $665.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $600.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Melius upgraded Lockheed Martin from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $704.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Lockheed Martin presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $612.29.

Lockheed Martin Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $113.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.37, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $545.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $533.01.

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

Lockheed Martin Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This is a boost from Lockheed Martin’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. Lockheed Martin’s payout ratio is presently 47.79%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lockheed Martin

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CVA Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,548 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $905,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. AllGen Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 4.0% in the third quarter. AllGen Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 468 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 20.5% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 106 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Sunburst Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 3.3% during the third quarter. Sunburst Financial Group LLC now owns 566 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $331,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Quad Cities Investment Group LLC grew its stake in Lockheed Martin by 1.2% during the third quarter. Quad Cities Investment Group LLC now owns 1,572 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $919,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. 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.