Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Upgraded by Robert W. Baird to “Outperform” Rating

Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a research note released on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Robert W. Baird currently has $540.00 target price on the aerospace company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut Lockheed Martin from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $550.00 to $480.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Lockheed Martin from $700.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $540.00 to $535.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $476.00 to $432.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Lockheed Martin from $565.00 to $515.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $544.79.

Lockheed Martin Price Performance

LMT stock opened at $463.66 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10. The company has a market capitalization of $108.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.83, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $453.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $494.28. Lockheed Martin has a twelve month low of $418.88 and a twelve month high of $618.95.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.34 by $0.94. Lockheed Martin had a net margin of 7.51% and a return on equity of 101.47%. The firm had revenue of $17.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.83 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Lockheed Martin will post 27.15 EPS for the current year.

Lockheed Martin Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $3.30 dividend. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.02%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Harry Edward Paul III sold 707 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $442.61, for a total transaction of $312,925.27. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,278 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,008,265.58. This trade represents a 23.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert M. Lightfoot, Jr. sold 3,213 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $442.42, for a total value of $1,421,495.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $884,840. This trade represents a 61.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,133 shares of company stock worth $3,155,916 over the last ninety days. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lockheed Martin

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. KG&L Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Lockheed Martin by 15.9% in the 1st quarter. KG&L Capital Management LLC now owns 619 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $277,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 160.8% during the 1st quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,548 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,138,000 after acquiring an additional 1,571 shares during the period. Flavin Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 8.6% in the first quarter. Flavin Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,619 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,064,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 20.8% in the first quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,355 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,945,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the period. Finally, Nvest Financial LLC increased its position in Lockheed Martin by 0.6% during the first quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 3,621 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,617,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. 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.