Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Shares Down 2.4% – Here’s What Happened

Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) shares were down 2.4% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $634.03 and last traded at $648.2980. Approximately 1,661,022 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 14% from the average daily volume of 1,931,911 shares. The stock had previously closed at $664.43.

Key Stories Impacting Lockheed Martin

Here are the key news stories impacting Lockheed Martin this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Unusual call buying — Traders bought 155,267 LMT call options today (roughly a 1,691% jump versus typical daily call volume), a strongly bullish signal that likely pushed intraday prices higher.
• Positive Sentiment: AI-driven manufacturing interest — Industry research highlights growing investment in AI-driven, software-defined defense factories and notes primes like Lockheed as potential beneficiaries, supporting longer-term revenue/efficiency upside. AI-Driven Defense Manufacturing Infrastructure Report 2025-2030
• Positive Sentiment: Relative strength vs. broader market — Coverage noting LMT is outperforming the Nasdaq and that the Street remains constructive likely reinforced investor confidence and buying momentum. Is Lockheed Martin Stock Outperforming the Nasdaq?
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/industry commentary on durable growth — Recent write-ups emphasize Lockheed’s predictable revenue profile and geopolitical hedge, supporting a bullish/defensive case for the stock. Lockheed Martin: Robust, Predictable Growth With Geopolitical Hedge Built In
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation/positioning view — Some analyst pieces call Lockheed operationally strong but “fully priced,” recommending a hold rather than buy, which tempers upside despite positive fundamentals. Operationally Strong, Valuation Fully Priced – Hold
• Negative Sentiment: Pentagon/Anthropic scrutiny — The Pentagon’s dispute with Anthropic and requests for defense primes (including Lockheed) to report any reliance on Anthropic’s Claude model raise supply?chain/third?party AI risk concerns; this creates short?term uncertainty about contract requirements, certification, or replacement costs. Pentagon Anthropic feud has sales and AI warfare at stake Pentagon asks Boeing, Lockheed Martin about their exposure to Anthropic

Analyst Ratings Changes

LMT has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Lockheed Martin from $515.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $615.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings raised Lockheed Martin from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Lockheed Martin from $605.00 to $695.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Lockheed Martin from $600.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $612.50.

Lockheed Martin Trading Up 2.7%

The firm has a market capitalization of $151.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.68, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.23. The business’s 50 day moving average is $581.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $509.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05.

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

Lockheed Martin Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a dividend of $3.45 per share. This represents a $13.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. Lockheed Martin’s payout ratio is presently 64.22%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lockheed Martin

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Basso Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Lockheed Martin during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. United Financial Planning Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Lockheed Martin in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lockheed Martin during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Triumph Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 66.7% during the 4th quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 55 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 285.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 54 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. 74.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Lockheed Martin

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.