Lockheed Martin shares close higher on Friday, company declares fourth-quarter dividend of $2.60 per share

The board of directors of Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT) has authorized a dividend of $2.60 per share for the fourth quarter of 2020, which is an increase of $0.20 per share compared to third-quarter dividend.

The dividend will be paid on December 24th to holders of record as of the close of business on December 1st, Lockheed said.

Lockheed Martin shares closed higher for the fifth time in the past ten trading sessions in New York on Friday. The stock went up 2.10% ($7.94) to $386.70, after touching an intraday high at $388.40, or a price level not seen since September 23rd ($394.31).

Shares of Lockheed Martin Corporation have retreated 0.69% so far in 2020 compared with a 2.09% gain for the benchmark index, S&P 500 (SPX).

In 2019, Lockheed Martin’s stock went up 48.71%, thus, it outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 28.88% gain.

The board of the Bethesda, Maryland-based security and aerospace company has also authorized the purchase of up to an extra $1.3 billion of Lockheed Martin common stock under its share buyback program.

Following the increase, the total authorized amount for future share repurchases equals nearly $3 billion.

Analyst stock price forecast and recommendation

According to CNN Money, the 20 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Lockheed Martin’s stock price, have a median target of $424.00, with a high estimate of $509.00 and a low estimate of $390.00. The median estimate represents a 9.65% upside compared to the closing price of $386.70 on September 25th.

The same media also reported that at least 12 out of 23 surveyed investment analysts had rated Lockheed Martin Corporation’s stock as “Buy”, while 9 – as “Hold”.