Sterling Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Lockheed Martin Corporation $LMT

Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) by 364.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,579 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,657 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Lockheed Martin were worth $8,207,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LMT. Basso Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in Lockheed Martin during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. United Financial Planning Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lockheed Martin during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Clarity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lockheed Martin during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Triumph Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 66.7% in the fourth quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 55 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Lockheed Martin in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Institutional investors own 74.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on LMT shares. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $670.00 to $600.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $740.00 to $700.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $675.00 to $571.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 18th. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $770.00 to $680.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Lockheed Martin from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lockheed Martin currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $619.63.

Lockheed Martin Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE:LMT opened at $506.63 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $116.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.53, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.10. Lockheed Martin Corporation has a 52 week low of $410.11 and a 52 week high of $692.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.74. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $526.18 and a 200 day moving average of $566.75.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $6.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.79 by ($0.35). The firm had revenue of $18.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.38 billion. Lockheed Martin had a return on equity of 101.64% and a net margin of 6.38%.Lockheed Martin’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $7.28 earnings per share. Lockheed Martin has set its FY 2026 guidance at 29.350-30.250 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lockheed Martin Corporation will post 29.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lockheed Martin Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a dividend of $3.45 per share. This represents a $13.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. Lockheed Martin’s payout ratio is 66.83%.

Lockheed Martin News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Lockheed Martin won a seven-year U.S. government contract worth up to $35 billion to quadruple THAAD interceptor production, a major win that should boost backlog, sales visibility, and future earnings. THAAD procurement award article
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts said the new missile contract, along with other recent Pentagon orders, strengthens the case for higher EPS as Lockheed ramps missile-defense production. Jefferies analyst note on missile contracts
• Positive Sentiment: Lockheed Martin is also being viewed as a defensive, dividend-oriented name with durable government-backed revenue, which may help support the stock during broader market volatility. Dividend stock article
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are also watching a broader defense-contractor earnings comparison piece that could influence relative sentiment across the sector, including LMT. Defense contractors Q1 results article
• Neutral Sentiment: Lockheed Martin was recently included in coverage about SpaceX’s military space-laser project and other defense-space partnerships, but the direct financial impact is still unclear. SpaceX military space-laser project article
• Negative Sentiment: The stock also faced recent pressure, including a reported two-day decline and another session where it fell more than the broader market, suggesting some investors were taking profits before the THAAD news fully sank in. Stock down 6% in 2 days article

Lockheed Martin Profile

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.