Lockheed Ramps Up Dividend By 8.3%, Boosts Share Buyback By $1.3B

Lockheed Martin’s board of directors has signed off on a 8.3% quarterly dividend increase to pay $2.60 per share and announced plans for an additional $1.3 billion share buyback.

Lockheed Martin (LMT) said that its fourth-quarter dividend will increase by $0.20 per share over last quarter. The dividend is payable on Dec. 24, 2020, to holders of record as of the close of business on Dec. 1, 2020.

In addition, the corporation’s board has authorized the purchase of up to an additional $1.3 billion of Lockheed Martin common stock as part of its share repurchase program. Following the increase, total authorization for future repurchases under the share repurchase program amounts to about $3 billion. The number of shares purchased and the timing of purchases are at the discretion of management and subject to compliance with applicable law and regulation, the company said.

Lockheed Martin is a security and aerospace company that has about 110,000 people employees worldwide and is mainly engaged in the research, development, manufacturing, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services.

LMT shares advanced 2.1% to close at $386.70 on Friday. With shares almost flat year-to-date, the $436.50 average analyst price target translates into 13% upside potential over the coming year.

Earlier this month, Goldman Sachs analyst Noah Poponak removed LMT from his Conviction List and lowered the stock’s price target to $447 (16% upside potential), from $501.

Poponak maintained a Buy rating saying that new order bookings continue to outpace the industry on average, “supporting further outgrowth ahead”. However, the analyst expects more upside from other aerospace stocks, including Boeing and Raytheon Technologies.

The rest of the Street is cautiously optimistic on the stock. LMT scores a Moderate Buy consensus from analysts with 6 recent Buy ratings versus 3 Hold ratings. (See Lockheed’s stock analysis on TipRanks).