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 research report report published on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $518.00 price objective on the aerospace company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $475.00.

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

Lockheed Martin Price Performance

LMT stock opened at $456.09 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $439.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $442.21. Lockheed Martin has a 12-month low of $393.77 and a 12-month high of $503.33. The firm has a market cap of $109.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.55, a PEG ratio of 4.14 and a beta of 0.48. 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 announced 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. Lockheed Martin had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 79.91%. The firm had revenue of $18.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $7.79 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Lockheed Martin will post 26.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Lockheed Martin Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $3.15 per share. This represents a $12.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.74%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO John Frank A. St sold 6,648 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.35, for a total transaction of $2,827,726.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, SVP Maryanne Lavan sold 4,022 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.39, for a total transaction of $1,747,116.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO John Frank A. St sold 6,648 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.35, for a total transaction of $2,827,726.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 16,874 shares of company stock worth $7,249,946. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lockheed Martin

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LMT. Lee Financial Co grew its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 367.6% in the 1st quarter. Lee Financial Co now owns 477 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $210,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in Lockheed Martin by 240.0% during the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 4,124 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,821,000 after acquiring an additional 2,911 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in Lockheed Martin by 56.8% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 23,153 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $9,995,000 after acquiring an additional 8,389 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Lockheed Martin by 18.4% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 28,807 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $12,716,000 after acquiring an additional 4,472 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in Lockheed Martin by 20.4% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 107,366 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $47,391,000 after acquiring an additional 18,201 shares during the period. 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.