Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Shares Down 1.5% – Should You Sell?

Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT)’s share price dropped 1.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $568.84 and last traded at $572.8090. Approximately 1,593,687 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 8% from the average daily volume of 1,735,750 shares. The stock had previously closed at $581.28.

Key Headlines Impacting Lockheed Martin

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

• Positive Sentiment: Successful program milestone — Lockheed completed and launched the final GPS III satellite, highlighting upgrades and the transition to GPS IIIF production, which supports long‑term Space segment revenue and backlog. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Benzinga reports premarket strength tied to the GPS launch and reiterates long‑term fundamentals are intact despite near‑term technical softness — a sign some buyers see today’s weakness as a buying opportunity. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/idea flow — Multiple outlets (Zacks lists) include LMT among defensive names with near‑term upside potential and in drone/space growth themes, reinforcing institutional interest and buy-side narratives around rising defense budgets. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: High-profile endorsement — Jim Cramer publicly called LMT a buy, highlighting expectations for a strong quarter and management execution, which can attract retail flows. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Peer comparison — Zacks piece compares LMT vs. General Dynamics, underscoring that both are top Pentagon contractors; useful for relative valuation/rotation decisions but not an immediate stock mover. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Revisit thesis analysis — Yahoo/other writeups note the recent pullback from highs and frame LMT as a possible entry after the short-term decline; useful context for longer‑term investors. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Pre-earnings coverage — Zacks and Motley Fool pieces encourage reviewing Q1 expectations, key metrics and backlog strength ahead of the earnings/investor update; these previews can increase volatility as estimates get repriced. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Near‑term technical and sentiment pressure — several pieces note a short-term technical softness and recent month/week slips that are triggering profit‑taking ahead of results; that sentiment is the main driver of today’s decline. Article Title

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Argus increased their price target on shares of Lockheed Martin from $530.00 to $735.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $673.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Lockheed Martin from $725.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Lockheed Martin from $615.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $675.00 price target on Lockheed Martin in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $645.79.

Lockheed Martin Price 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 stock has a market cap of $132.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.23. The company’s 50-day moving average is $635.88 and its 200-day moving average is $552.59.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $5.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.53). Lockheed Martin had a net margin of 6.69% and a return on equity of 108.53%. The company had revenue of $20.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $7.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Lockheed Martin Corporation will post 29.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lockheed Martin Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a dividend of $3.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $13.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.22%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lockheed Martin

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Basso Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in Lockheed Martin during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. United Financial Planning Group LLC bought a new stake in Lockheed Martin during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Clarity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Lockheed Martin during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Triumph Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 285.7% in the third quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 54 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. 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.