Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Shares Up 2.4% on Analyst Upgrade

Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) traded up 2.4% on Wednesday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $673.00 to $675.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Lockheed Martin traded as high as $619.10 and last traded at $618.6270. 1,104,061 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 41% from the average session volume of 1,867,530 shares. The stock had previously closed at $604.39.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $540.00 to $630.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $515.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Argus upped their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $530.00 to $735.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Lockheed Martin from $464.00 to $517.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, DZ Bank cut Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $665.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lockheed Martin has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $634.74.

Lockheed Martin News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Major Pentagon framework deal announced this morning with Boeing and Lockheed, driving renewed conviction in multi‑year government backlog and accelerating production programs that support revenue visibility. Boeing Gains 5%, Lockheed Martin Up 2%
• Positive Sentiment: Operational push: Lockheed opened a Rapid Fielding/rapid prototyping facility to speed development and scale production — a structural win if it helps clinch accelerated acquisition programs. Lockheed Martin Opens Rapid Fielding Center
• Neutral Sentiment: Citigroup bumped its price target slightly to $675 but kept a “neutral” rating — a modest vote of confidence on valuation but not a buy signal from that analyst. Citigroup Adjusts Price Target on Lockheed Martin
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo initiated coverage with an “equal weight” rating and $650 target — signals institutional interest but no clear upgrade impetus. Wells Fargo Initiates Coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Market positioning: actively managed defense ETFs (which often hold LMT) remain in focus; flows into these funds can amplify moves but are volatile. 2 Actively Managed Defense ETFs
• Negative Sentiment: Political risk: President Trump’s comments about walking away from NATO and pressing Europe on defense spending create uncertainty around alliance-driven procurement dynamics and could pressure defense-sector sentiment. Trump Toys With NATO Exit: Defense Stocks In The Crosshairs
• Negative Sentiment: Program/governance risks: NASA’s Artemis reset and reports of reduced F‑35 Air Force orders highlight possible contract reshaping and near‑term revenue headwinds for key programs tied to Lockheed. These are execution and backlog risks to monitor. Lockheed Martin Faces Artemis Reset

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Carnegie Investment Counsel increased its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 11.4% in the third quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 29,639 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $14,796,000 after purchasing an additional 3,031 shares during the last quarter. VCI Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lockheed Martin during the 3rd quarter worth about $3,075,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 22.4% during the 3rd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 25,423 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $12,688,000 after buying an additional 4,652 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in Lockheed Martin by 29.2% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 10,036 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,010,000 after buying an additional 2,270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 39,410 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $19,674,000 after acquiring an additional 3,352 shares during the period. 74.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lockheed Martin Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $634.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $539.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $142.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.79, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.22.

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

Lockheed Martin Dividend Announcement

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

Lockheed Martin Company Profile

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.