Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Shares Down 1.9% – Here’s Why

Shares of Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) were down 1.9% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $613.66 and last traded at $615.5070. Approximately 1,059,668 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 44% from the average daily volume of 1,889,904 shares. The stock had previously closed at $627.33.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $530.00 to $735.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Lockheed Martin from $550.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their target price on Lockheed Martin from $550.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Lockheed Martin from $515.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Lockheed Martin from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $623.16.

Lockheed Martin Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $141.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.22. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $632.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $535.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05.

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

Lockheed Martin Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a $3.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $13.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.22%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lockheed Martin

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 107.3% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,293,823 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $625,784,000 after purchasing an additional 669,604 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,728,551 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,770,729,000 after buying an additional 527,523 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lockheed Martin during the 3rd quarter valued at about $252,699,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Lockheed Martin by 203.3% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 560,363 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $271,031,000 after acquiring an additional 375,622 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Lockheed Martin by 286.1% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 503,428 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $251,316,000 after acquiring an additional 373,027 shares during the period. 74.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lockheed Martin Company 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.