Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Shares Up 1.4% – Time to Buy?

Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT)’s stock price rose 1.4% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $644.25 and last traded at $637.2450. Approximately 1,744,046 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 16% from the average daily volume of 2,083,612 shares. The stock had previously closed at $628.70.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on LMT shares. Morgan Stanley set a $675.00 price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $550.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $654.00 target price on shares of Lockheed Martin in a report on Friday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $464.00 to $517.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Lockheed Martin from $580.00 to $663.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $612.50.

Lockheed Martin Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $537.63 and a 200-day moving average of $491.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $146.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.23.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $5.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.53). Lockheed Martin had a net margin of 6.69% and a return on equity of 108.53%. The business had revenue of $20.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $7.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lockheed Martin Corporation will post 27.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Lockheed Martin Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a dividend of $3.45 per share. This represents a $13.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. Lockheed Martin’s payout ratio is 64.22%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lockheed Martin

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tableaux LLC raised its position in Lockheed Martin by 34,231.4% in the second quarter. Tableaux LLC now owns 623,115 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $288,589,000 after purchasing an additional 621,300 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lockheed Martin in the 3rd quarter valued at about $252,699,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 286.1% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 503,428 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $251,316,000 after purchasing an additional 373,027 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 169.3% during the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 572,272 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $265,030,000 after buying an additional 359,748 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canoe Financial LP purchased a new stake in Lockheed Martin during the fourth quarter worth approximately $166,403,000. 74.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lockheed Martin Company Profile

Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT) is a global aerospace and defense company that designs, develops and manufactures advanced technology systems for government and commercial customers. Formed through the 1995 merger of Lockheed Corporation and Martin Marietta, the company is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, and focuses on providing integrated solutions across air, space, land and sea domains. Its primary customers include the U.S. Department of Defense, NASA and allied governments around the world.

Lockheed Martin’s product and service portfolio spans military aircraft, missile and fire-control systems, missile defense, space systems and satellite technologies, sensors and precision weapons.