Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wells Fargo & Company Analyst Says

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) had its price target hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $468.00 to $476.00 in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $540.00 to $535.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Lockheed Martin from $527.00 to $508.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com cut Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $700.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price 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 assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lockheed Martin presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $554.20.

Lockheed Martin Stock Up 2.8 %

LMT opened at $474.31 on Friday. Lockheed Martin has a 1 year low of $419.70 and a 1 year high of $618.95. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $462.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $521.36. 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 company has a market cap of $111.65 billion, a PE ratio of 21.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.43.

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

Lockheed Martin Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $3.30 dividend. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Lockheed Martin’s payout ratio is currently 59.30%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LMT. Forte Capital LLC ADV raised its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 23.1% during the 3rd quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 1,401 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $819,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC increased its position in Lockheed Martin by 5.3% in the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 2,303 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,346,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Advisor Resource Council bought a new stake in Lockheed Martin in the third quarter valued at $305,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Lockheed Martin by 4.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 270,879 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $158,345,000 after buying an additional 10,358 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montecito Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 7.7% during the third quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 629 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $368,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. 74.19% of the stock is 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.