StockNews.com Upgrades Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) to “Strong-Buy”

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Thursday.

LMT has been the subject of several other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Lockheed Martin from $380.00 to $377.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $460.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $550.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $467.00 to $487.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Lockheed Martin from $482.00 to $499.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $485.40.

Lockheed Martin Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of LMT traded up $6.05 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $465.19. 927,138 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,171,864. The company has a market cap of $111.87 billion, a PE ratio of 17.02, a PEG ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $443.00 and its 200-day moving average is $444.29. Lockheed Martin has a 52 week low of $393.77 and a 52 week high of $479.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.30.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $6.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.53. Lockheed Martin had a return on equity of 85.96% and a net margin of 9.73%. The firm had revenue of $17.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lockheed Martin will post 26.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Maryanne Lavan sold 4,022 shares of Lockheed Martin stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.39, for a total transaction of $1,747,116.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, COO John Frank A. St sold 6,648 shares of Lockheed Martin stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.35, for a total transaction of $2,827,726.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Maryanne Lavan sold 4,022 shares of Lockheed Martin stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.39, for a total value of $1,747,116.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 16,874 shares of company stock valued at $7,249,946. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LMT. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 10,526.6% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,362,228 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $617,416,000 after acquiring an additional 1,349,409 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,589,447 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,173,641,000 after acquiring an additional 336,588 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Lockheed Martin during the first quarter worth about $151,402,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 1.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,302,719 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $9,120,920,000 after acquiring an additional 279,162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 91.8% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 574,017 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $260,169,000 after acquiring an additional 274,680 shares in the last quarter. 74.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lockheed Martin Company Profile

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.