Argent Capital Management LLC Increases Position in Lockheed Martin Corporation $LMT

Key Points

• Argent Capital Management increased its Lockheed Martin position by 4,555.7% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 21,416 shares valued at approximately $12.9 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 74.19% of the company.
• Lockheed Martin exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $7.94 in EPS and $20.06 billion in revenue, with revenue up 10.5% year over year. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $626.33.
• The U.S. Army awarded Lockheed Martin a potential $58.62 billion PAC-3 missile contract, while the company plans to triple PAC-3 production. The contract could expand its backlog toward $300 billion, though final terms, pricing and profitability remain subject to negotiation.

Argent Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT - Free Report) by 4,555.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,416 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 20,956 shares during the period. Argent Capital Management LLC's holdings in Lockheed Martin were worth $12,944,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Diamant Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 60,339.0% during the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 879,387 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $531,493,000 after buying an additional 877,932 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 107.3% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,293,823 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $625,784,000 after acquiring an additional 669,604 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Lockheed Martin by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,728,551 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,770,729,000 after acquiring an additional 527,523 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Lockheed Martin by 3,497.5% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 451,276 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $272,746,000 after acquiring an additional 438,732 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Lockheed Martin by 203.3% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 560,363 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $271,031,000 after acquiring an additional 375,622 shares during the last quarter. 74.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on LMT shares. Weiss Ratings cut Lockheed Martin from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup raised shares of Lockheed Martin from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $571.00 to $582.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Lockheed Martin from $653.00 to $690.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Lockheed Martin from $680.00 to $605.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lockheed Martin presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $626.33.

Lockheed Martin Stock Performance

Shares of Lockheed Martin stock opened at $583.42 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $528.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $575.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.19. Lockheed Martin Corporation has a one year low of $412.55 and a one year high of $692.00. The company has a market cap of $134.65 billion, a PE ratio of 21.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.11.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The aerospace company reported $7.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $7.22 by $0.72. Lockheed Martin had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 91.42%. The company had revenue of $20.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. Lockheed Martin has set its FY 2026 guidance at 29.950-30.650 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lockheed Martin Corporation will post 30.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lockheed Martin Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a $3.45 dividend. This represents a $13.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. Lockheed Martin's dividend payout ratio is 50.87%.

Key Stories Impacting Lockheed Martin

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

• Positive Sentiment: The U.S. Army awarded Lockheed Martin a seven-year contract modification valued at up to $53.86 billion for PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement interceptors. Including a previously awarded $4.7 billion first-year contract, the total potential value reaches $58.62 billion—the largest Patriot missile award to date. US awards Lockheed Martin $58.6 billion in largest-ever Patriot missile deal
• Positive Sentiment: Lockheed Martin plans to triple PAC-3 production, creating additional jobs and expanding manufacturing capacity. CEO Jim Taiclet said the award could help push the company’s backlog toward approximately $300 billion, improving long-term revenue visibility. Lockheed Martin Gets a Mega Missile Contract
• Positive Sentiment: Escalating U.S.-Iran tensions and missile use are depleting American weapons inventories, increasing the likelihood of sustained Pentagon replenishment orders. Lockheed Martin is viewed as a key beneficiary because of its leading position in missile defense. Iran Tensions Illustrate Defense Supply Shortages
• Neutral Sentiment: The contract is described as “undefinitized,” meaning final terms and pricing remain subject to negotiation. Investors may therefore focus on execution, production ramp-up costs and eventual contract profitability rather than the headline value alone. Lockheed Martin’s Missile Contract Brings More Jobs, Higher Production

Lockheed Martin 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.