Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Stock Price Down 2.5% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) dropped 2.5% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $472.89 and last traded at $455.13. Approximately 906,562 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 18% from the average daily volume of 1,107,328 shares. The stock had previously closed at $466.74.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LMT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Lockheed Martin from $565.00 to $515.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $611.00 to $523.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Lockheed Martin from $570.00 to $550.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Lockheed Martin from $540.00 to $535.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Lockheed Martin from $527.00 to $508.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $554.20.

Lockheed Martin Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $460.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $514.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market cap of $103.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.43.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The aerospace company reported $7.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.58 by $1.09. Lockheed Martin had a net margin of 7.51% and a return on equity of 101.47%. Equities research analysts predict that Lockheed Martin Co. will post 27.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lockheed Martin Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $3.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lockheed Martin

In other Lockheed Martin news, insider Robert M. Lightfoot, Jr. sold 3,213 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $442.42, for a total value of $1,421,495.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $884,840. The trade was a 61.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Harry Edward Paul III sold 707 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $442.61, for a total transaction of $312,925.27. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,008,265.58. This represents a 23.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,133 shares of company stock worth $3,155,916. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lockheed Martin

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Lockheed Martin by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,471,071 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,630,492,000 after acquiring an additional 1,132,461 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Lockheed Martin by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,887,242 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,374,557,000 after acquiring an additional 59,597 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,389,025 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,981,088,000 after buying an additional 209,591 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,074,855 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,797,437,000 after buying an additional 240,306 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,260,910 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,098,667,000 after buying an additional 134,662 shares during the period. 74.19% of the stock is 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.