Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Upgraded to Strong-Buy by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Thursday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on LMT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Lockheed Martin from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and upped their price target for the company from $475.00 to $518.00 in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Lockheed Martin from $550.00 to $540.00 and set a positive rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $482.00 to $499.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Lockheed Martin from $380.00 to $377.00 and set a sell rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Lockheed Martin from $467.00 to $487.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Thursday. One investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $485.40.

Lockheed Martin Stock Performance

Shares of LMT stock opened at $465.19 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $443.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $444.29. Lockheed Martin has a 52 week low of $393.77 and a 52 week high of $479.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.62 billion, a PE ratio of 17.02, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Lockheed Martin

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lockheed Martin

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lockheed Martin during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,273,000. Carr Financial Group Corp grew its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Carr Financial Group Corp now owns 1,506 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $685,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. KG&L Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 23.8% during the 1st quarter. KG&L Capital Management LLC now owns 993 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $452,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 27.5% during the 1st quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,900 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,229,000 after purchasing an additional 1,057 shares during the period. Finally, Petredis Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,986 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,542,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.19% of the company’s stock.

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.