Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seventeen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $541.80.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded Lockheed Martin from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $575.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Lockheed Martin from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $540.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Lockheed Martin from $510.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Lockheed Martin from $481.00 to $499.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Lockheed Martin from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd.

Lockheed Martin Price Performance

Shares of LMT stock opened at $468.96 on Friday. Lockheed Martin has a twelve month low of $418.88 and a twelve month high of $618.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.29. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $469.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $470.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.34 by $0.94. Lockheed Martin had a return on equity of 101.47% and a net margin of 7.51%. The business had revenue of $17.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.83 billion. On average, analysts predict that Lockheed Martin will post 27.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lockheed Martin Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $3.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.02%.

Institutional Trading of Lockheed Martin

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,031,528 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,587,444,000 after acquiring an additional 560,457 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,887,242 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,374,557,000 after acquiring an additional 59,597 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,287,495 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,021,846,000 after acquiring an additional 31,443 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,260,910 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,098,667,000 after acquiring an additional 134,662 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,144,827 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $958,116,000 after acquiring an additional 12,899 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.19% of the company’s stock.

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.