Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Stock Price Up 5.2% on Analyst Upgrade

Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) shares rose 5.2% during trading on Monday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $620.00 to $665.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Lockheed Martin traded as high as $636.56 and last traded at $635.5490. Approximately 2,639,797 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 81% from the average daily volume of 1,456,957 shares. The stock had previously closed at $604.18.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on LMT. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on Lockheed Martin from $629.00 to $564.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $620.00 price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Rothschild & Co Redburn initiated coverage on shares of Lockheed Martin in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $650.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $653.00 to $690.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $638.05.

Key Lockheed Martin News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley upgraded LMT to Overweight from Equal-weight and raised its price target to $835 from $690. The firm said a new agreement covering 850 F-35 jets removes a key risk and significantly improves the company’s outlook. Morgan Stanley upgrades Lockheed Martin, says F-35 deal removes key risk
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted strong demand for Lockheed Martin’s F-35 aircraft and missiles. Three Wall Street analysts issued positive reports, while JPMorgan raised its price target from $620 to $665, although it kept a Neutral rating. Why Lockheed Martin Stock Keeps Going Up
• Positive Sentiment: Lockheed Martin’s third-quarter earnings beat estimates, with EPS of $7.97 versus the $7.52 consensus and revenue of $20.71 billion versus $20.48 billion expected. Revenue increased 11.3% year over year, and the company’s backlog grew 27% toward $300 billion, supporting future sales visibility. Is Now a Good Time to Buy Lockheed Martin?
• Positive Sentiment: The company also raised its dividend, reinforcing the income-investment case and signaling confidence in cash-flow durability. Analysts and market commentary increasingly suggest that LMT may warrant a higher valuation after its strong execution and backlog growth. Lockheed Martin, Interactive Brokers, AEP Hike Dividends on Strong Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: LMT has attracted elevated investor attention and was identified by Zacks as a value-oriented stock, but these articles provide limited new fundamental information. Lockheed Martin Corporation is Attracting Investor Attention

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lockheed Martin

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 1.3% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 32,975,170 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $16,799,530,000 after acquiring an additional 419,582 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Lockheed Martin during the 2nd quarter worth about $9,617,574,000. Corient Private Wealth LP raised its stake in Lockheed Martin by 3,983.3% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 7,110,961 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,622,750,000 after purchasing an additional 6,936,814 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Lockheed Martin in the 2nd quarter valued at about $645,258,000. Finally, Diamant Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Lockheed Martin by 60,339.0% in the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 879,387 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $531,493,000 after purchasing an additional 877,932 shares during the last quarter. 74.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lockheed Martin Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $146.82 billion, a PE ratio of 22.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.26. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $538.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $541.63.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.52 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $20.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.48 billion. Lockheed Martin had a net margin of 8.23% and a return on equity of 83.41%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.95 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lockheed Martin Corporation will post 30.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Lockheed Martin Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $3.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st. This is a positive change from Lockheed Martin’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.45. This represents a $14.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Lockheed Martin’s payout ratio is currently 49.02%.

Lockheed Martin Company Profile

Lockheed Martin Corporation is a global security and aerospace company headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. Formed in 1995 through the merger of Lockheed Corporation and Martin Marietta, the company develops and produces advanced defense, aerospace, and technology systems for government and commercial customers.

Its principal business areas include Aeronautics, Missiles and Fire Control, Rotary and Mission Systems, and Space. Products and services include military aircraft such as the F-35 Lightning II, C-130 Hercules, and F-16 Fighting Falcon; missile-defense and precision-strike systems; helicopters and naval systems; command, control, communications, and intelligence technologies; satellites; space exploration systems; and other classified space and defense programs.

Lockheed Martin serves the U.S.