Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Shares Down 0.4% on Analyst Downgrade

Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) shares were down 0.4% during trading on Wednesday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $602.00 to $543.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Lockheed Martin traded as low as $508.60 and last traded at $510.70. Approximately 168,800 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 1,076,072 shares. The stock had previously closed at $512.94.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on LMT. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Barclays boosted their price target on Lockheed Martin from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Melius raised Lockheed Martin from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $704.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $635.00 price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Lockheed Martin from $675.00 to $665.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $612.29.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lockheed Martin

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lantz Financial LLC increased its position in Lockheed Martin by 2.6% in the second quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 4,882 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,281,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 119.9% in the 2nd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 1,016 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $475,000 after acquiring an additional 554 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 32,076 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $14,983,000 after acquiring an additional 2,282 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Lockheed Martin by 4.1% in the second quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,735 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,277,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Red Door Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Lockheed Martin by 8.4% during the second quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,336 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,361,000 after acquiring an additional 721 shares during the last quarter. 74.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lockheed Martin Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $120.95 billion, a PE ratio of 18.49, a P/E/G ratio of 4.19 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $559.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $532.18.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.84 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $17.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.38 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.77 earnings per share. Lockheed Martin’s revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Lockheed Martin Co. will post 26.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lockheed Martin Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $3.30 dividend. This is a positive change from Lockheed Martin’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.15. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio is 47.79%.

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.