Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT) will raise its quarterly dividend by 8.3 percent to $2.60 per share in 2020. This comes after a 9.1 percent hike to $2.40 per share announced by the defence company in 2019. This year will be the 18th consecutive year of dividend increases by Lockheed Martin.

The next dividend is payable on December 24, 2020, to holders of record as of the close of business on December 1, 2020. A new annual rate of $10.40 per share yields 2.7% at a stock price of $386.70.

In the company's press release dated September 26, 2020, the corporation's board announces that it has also authorized the purchase of up to an additional $1.3 billion of Lockheed Martin common stock under its share repurchase program. With this increase, total authorization for future repurchases under the share repurchase program is approximately $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.

Lockheed Martin will now pay an estimated $2.9 billion in dividends to its shareholders annually. The average dividend growth rate in the last five years is 9.5 percent annually. This year's dividend hike is the smallest in more than a decade for the company with at least double digit increases every year through 2018.

Lockheed Martin Corporation is a security and aerospace company that is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The company also provides a broad range of management, engineering, technical, scientific, logistics, system integration and cybersecurity services. Lockheed serves both U.S. and international customers with its principal customers being agencies of the U.S. Government. The company's four business segments are: Aeronautics, Missiles and Fire Control (MFC), Rotary and Mission Systems (RMS) and Space. Lockheed has paid a dividend every year since 1995.