Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Stock Price Down 2.5% – Should You Sell?

Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT)’s stock price was down 2.5% on Friday . The company traded as low as $472.89 and last traded at $455.13. Approximately 906,562 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 18% from the average daily volume of 1,107,328 shares. The stock had previously closed at $466.74.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on LMT shares. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Lockheed Martin in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $579.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $611.00 to $523.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target 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. Barclays cut 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. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Lockheed Martin from $527.00 to $508.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $554.20.

Lockheed Martin Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average is $460.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $514.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $103.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.13.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The aerospace company reported $7.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.58 by $1.09. Lockheed Martin had a net margin of 7.51% and a return on equity of 101.47%. Analysts forecast that Lockheed Martin Co. will post 27.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Lockheed Martin Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $3.30 per share. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Robert M. Lightfoot, Jr. sold 3,213 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $884,840. This trade represents a 61.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Harry Edward Paul III sold 707 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $442.61, for a total transaction of $312,925.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,278 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,008,265.58. The trade was a 23.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,133 shares of company stock valued at $3,155,916 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Virtue Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 112.8% in the 3rd quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 2,249 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,315,000 after buying an additional 1,192 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in Lockheed Martin by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 656,807 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $382,498,000 after purchasing an additional 13,253 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Lockheed Martin by 79.9% in the 3rd quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 12,068 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $7,054,000 after purchasing an additional 5,361 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lifted its position in Lockheed Martin by 51.7% in the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 9,528 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,630,000 after purchasing an additional 3,247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Lockheed Martin by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 92,131 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $44,770,000 after purchasing an additional 2,011 shares during the last quarter. 74.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.