StockNews.com upgraded shares of $Lockheed Martin (LMT.US)$ from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on LMT. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on shares of Lockheed Martin in a research report on Monday, August 29th. They set a sector perform rating and a $460.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $496.00 to $406.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $525.00 to $522.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 20th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued  a buy rating and one  has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lockheed Martin presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $452.83.

Lockheed Martin Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of LMT stock opened at $413.07 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $420.04 and its 200 day moving average is $430.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.66. Lockheed Martin has a 12-month low of $324.23 and a 12-month high of $479.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 19th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.29 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $15.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.02 billion. Lockheed Martin had a net margin of 7.33% and a return on equity of 69.02%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $7.13 EPS.  Research analysts expect that  Lockheed Martin will post 26.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Lockheed Martin

In other Lockheed Martin news, EVP Gregory M. Ulmer sold 6,929 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.87, for a total transaction of $2,936,995.23. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director John Donovan acquired 632 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $396.16 per share, with a total value of $250,373.12. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,200 shares in the company, valued at $475,392. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gregory M. Ulmer sold 6,929 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.87, for a total transaction of $2,936,995.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lockheed Martin

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blair William & Co. IL increased its holdings in shares of  Lockheed Martin by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 25,313 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $8,997,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period.  LPL Financial LLC increased its position in  Lockheed Martin by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 371,376 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $131,991,000 after purchasing an additional 28,198 shares in the last quarter.  William Allan LLC acquired a new stake in  Lockheed Martin in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $790,000.  Altavista Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of  Lockheed Martin during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $210,000.  Finally, Avaii Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of  Lockheed Martin during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $236,000. 75.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Lockheed Martin

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. It operates through four segments: Aeronautics, Missiles and Fire Control, Rotary and Mission Systems, and Space.