Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Shares Up 2.1% – Should You Buy?

Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT)’s stock price was up 2.1% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $541.59 and last traded at $536.3710. Approximately 1,314,709 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 11% from the average daily volume of 1,480,874 shares. The stock had previously closed at $525.28.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LMT. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Lockheed Martin in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Lockheed Martin from $653.00 to $690.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin in a report on Monday, July 27th. Robert W. Baird set a $700.00 target price on shares of Lockheed Martin in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $637.56.

Lockheed Martin Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $122.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.10. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $556.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $567.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The aerospace company reported $7.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.22 by $0.72. Lockheed Martin had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 91.42%. The business had revenue of $20.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.46 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. Lockheed Martin has set its FY 2026 guidance at 29.950-30.650 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Lockheed Martin Corporation will post 30.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lockheed Martin Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a dividend of $3.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $13.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.87%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in Lockheed Martin by 49,985.5% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 163,027,709 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $83,056,097,000 after buying an additional 162,702,210 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Lockheed Martin in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $9,617,574,000. Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new position in Lockheed Martin during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $101,960,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Lockheed Martin during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $645,258,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Lockheed Martin in the second quarter valued at approximately $497,469,000. 74.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin Corporation is a global aerospace, defense and technology company that develops and produces systems for government and commercial customers, with the U.S. Department of Defense serving as its largest customer. Its principal business areas include Aeronautics, Missiles and Fire Control, Rotary and Mission Systems, and Space.

The company’s products and services include military aircraft such as the F-35 Lightning II, F-16 and C-130; air and missile defense systems; precision weapons; helicopters and maritime systems; radar, sensors and command-and-control technologies; satellites; space exploration systems; and missile-warning and strategic defense capabilities.

Lockheed Martin was created in 1995 through the merger of Lockheed Corporation and Martin Marietta.