Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Shares Up 1.1% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Lockheed Martin shares rose 1.1% during Thursday trading, with the stock briefly reaching $541.21 before ending near $536.93. Trading volume was below average, suggesting the move came on relatively lighter participation.
• The main catalysts were positive business developments, including first deliveries of Javelin lightweight command launch units to the U.S. Army, expanded munitions production in Alabama, and continued demand for missile defense and autonomous systems.
• Despite the upbeat news flow, analyst sentiment remains mixed: several firms cut price targets recently, and MarketBeat’s average rating on LMT is “Hold” with an average price target of $620.68. The company also missed last quarter’s EPS and revenue estimates, even as it maintained FY 2026 EPS guidance.

Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 1.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $541.21 and last traded at $536.9330. 1,135,348 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 32% from the average session volume of 1,681,901 shares. The stock had previously closed at $531.14.

Lockheed Martin News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Lockheed Martin and Raytheon’s Javelin joint venture delivered its first Lightweight Command Launch Units to the U.S. Army, highlighting a move from manufacturing updates to actual field deployment of next-generation hardware. Lockheed Martin Javelin Launcher Delivery Highlights Valuation Gap And Growth Watchpoints
• Positive Sentiment: The company is expanding munitions production in Alabama and scaling missile-defense programs such as THAAD, signaling stronger long-term industrial capacity and support for rising defense demand. Lockheed Martin Expands Alabama Munitions Capacity As Valuation Draws Investor Focus
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports pointed to record order intake and rising demand for missile defense, sustainment, and autonomous systems, which supports revenue visibility and future earnings growth. Lockheed Martin (LMT) Is Seeing Record Demand. The Profit Story May Just Be Starting
• Neutral Sentiment: The company presented at Bernstein’s strategic conference and executives continued to emphasize missile-defense priorities, but these updates did not add major new financial guidance. Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT) Presents at Bernstein 42nd Annual Strategic Decisions Conference Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: F-35 program news showed continuing work on key engine analysis and Block 4 funding debate, which keeps the program in focus but is not a clear near-term catalyst by itself. F-35 Program And Lockheed Martin To Finish F-35 PTMS Analysis Soon, As HASC Argues Block 4 “Underfunded”
• Negative Sentiment: Citi recently cut its price target on Lockheed Martin to $571 from $675 and kept a Neutral rating, reminding investors that valuation and upside expectations may be more limited. Is Lockheed Martin (LMT) One of the Best Blue Chip Stocks to Buy for Your Retirement Portfolio?

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LMT. Bank of America reduced their price target on Lockheed Martin from $660.00 to $600.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Lockheed Martin from $464.00 to $517.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Citigroup reduced their price target on Lockheed Martin from $675.00 to $571.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on Lockheed Martin from $615.00 to $575.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Argus upped their target price on Lockheed Martin from $530.00 to $735.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $620.68.

Lockheed Martin Price Performance

The stock's 50-day moving average is $570.82 and its 200-day moving average is $557.72. The firm has a market cap of $123.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.74.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $6.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $6.79 by ($0.35). The firm had revenue of $18.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.38 billion. Lockheed Martin had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 101.64%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $7.28 earnings per share. Lockheed Martin has set its FY 2026 guidance at 29.350-30.250 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Lockheed Martin Corporation will post 29.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lockheed Martin Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $3.45 per share. This represents a $13.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. Lockheed Martin's dividend payout ratio is presently 66.83%.

Institutional Trading of Lockheed Martin

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LMT. Diamant Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 60,339.0% during the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 879,387 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $531,493,000 after buying an additional 877,932 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 107.3% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,293,823 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $625,784,000 after buying an additional 669,604 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,728,551 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,770,729,000 after buying an additional 527,523 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC bought a new position in Lockheed Martin during the third quarter worth about $252,699,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 3,497.5% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 451,276 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $272,746,000 after buying an additional 438,732 shares during the last quarter. 74.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Lockheed Martin

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.

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