Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Rating Increased to Overweight at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a report published on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has $518.00 price target on the aerospace company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $475.00.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on LMT. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $513.00 to $503.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $540.00 to $508.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $475.00 to $470.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Lockheed Martin from $488.00 to $475.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price target on Lockheed Martin from $550.00 to $540.00 and set a positive rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $493.36.

Lockheed Martin Stock Performance

Shares of Lockheed Martin stock opened at $456.09 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $109.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.55, a P/E/G ratio of 4.14 and a beta of 0.48. Lockheed Martin has a 52 week low of $393.77 and a 52 week high of $503.33. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $439.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $442.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The aerospace company reported $7.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.26 by $0.64. The business had revenue of $18.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.96 billion. Lockheed Martin had a return on equity of 79.91% and a net margin of 10.24%. The company’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $7.79 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Lockheed Martin will post 26.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lockheed Martin Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $3.15 dividend. This represents a $12.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lockheed Martin

In other Lockheed Martin news, SVP Maryanne Lavan sold 4,022 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.39, for a total value of $1,747,116.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Gregory M. Ulmer sold 6,204 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $431.19, for a total value of $2,675,102.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,604 shares in the company, valued at $5,434,718.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Maryanne Lavan sold 4,022 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.39, for a total value of $1,747,116.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 16,874 shares of company stock valued at $7,249,946. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LMT. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 73.0% in the third quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 64 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Lockheed Martin during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its position in Lockheed Martin by 1,200.0% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 65 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. purchased a new stake in Lockheed Martin during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Milestone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Lockheed Martin during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.19% of the company’s stock.

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.