General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Price Target Raised to $360.00

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) had its price objective boosted by Citigroup from $354.00 to $360.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on GD. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $330.00 to $315.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $330.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $283.00 to $245.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of General Dynamics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $304.88.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $268.07 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $270.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $287.88. The company has a market cap of $73.71 billion, a PE ratio of 20.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics has a one year low of $251.62 and a one year high of $316.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.32.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.65 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.04 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that General Dynamics will post 13.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.26%.

General Dynamics announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Dynamics news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Dynamics

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Coston McIsaac & Partners increased its stake in General Dynamics by 22.8% during the 3rd quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 178 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 2.3% during the third quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 1,482 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $448,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 10.6% in the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 354 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 1.6% in the third quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,223 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jeppson Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in General Dynamics by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC now owns 955 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Company Profile

General Dynamics Corporation operates as an aerospace and defense company worldwide. It operates through four segments: Aerospace, Marine Systems, Combat Systems, and Technologies. The Aerospace segment produces and sells business jets; and offers aircraft maintenance and repair, management, aircraft-on-ground support and completion, charter, staffing, and fixed-base operator services.