StockNews.com Downgrades Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) to Buy

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

LMT has been the subject of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $540.00 to $535.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Lockheed Martin in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $579.00 price objective for the company. Barclays lowered their price target on Lockheed Martin from $565.00 to $515.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $481.00 to $499.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut Lockheed Martin from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $550.00 to $480.00 in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lockheed Martin currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $544.79.

Lockheed Martin Price Performance

Lockheed Martin stock opened at $472.14 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $459.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $487.99. Lockheed Martin has a 12 month low of $418.88 and a 12 month high of $618.95. The company has a market cap of $110.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.21, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.34 by $0.94. Lockheed Martin had a return on equity of 101.47% and a net margin of 7.51%. The business had revenue of $17.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.83 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lockheed Martin will post 27.15 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Harry Edward Paul III sold 707 shares of Lockheed Martin stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $442.61, for a total value of $312,925.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,278 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,008,265.58. The trade was a 23.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert M. Lightfoot, Jr. sold 3,213 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $442.42, for a total value of $1,421,495.46. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $884,840. The trade was a 61.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,133 shares of company stock worth $3,155,916 over the last three months. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LMT. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Lockheed Martin by 41,104.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,991,433 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $889,593,000 after acquiring an additional 1,986,600 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 53,784.3% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,235,568 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $600,412,000 after purchasing an additional 1,233,275 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,471,071 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,630,492,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132,461 shares during the period. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Lockheed Martin in the 4th quarter valued at $526,587,000. Finally, Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new position in Lockheed Martin in the 4th quarter valued at $451,985,000. 74.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.