Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Shares Down 1.4% – Time to Sell?

Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT)’s share price was down 1.4% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $632.79 and last traded at $636.11. Approximately 1,387,342 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 27% from the average daily volume of 1,891,132 shares. The stock had previously closed at $645.20.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on LMT. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Lockheed Martin from $464.00 to $517.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings cut Lockheed Martin from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $605.00 to $695.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $580.00 to $663.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $540.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $618.95.

Lockheed Martin Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $619.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $527.13. The firm has a market cap of $146.36 billion, a PE ratio of 29.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.22.

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

Lockheed Martin Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a $3.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $13.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.22%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lockheed Martin

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Basso Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Lockheed Martin during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. United Financial Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lockheed Martin in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Clarity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lockheed Martin in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Triumph Capital Management increased its position in Lockheed Martin by 66.7% during the fourth quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 55 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Lockheed Martin by 285.7% during the third quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 54 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.19% of the company’s stock.

About Lockheed Martin

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.