General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Receives $319.06 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $319.06.

Several brokerages have commented on GD. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. BTIG Research began coverage on General Dynamics in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $345.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut General Dynamics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $334.00 to $317.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $331.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In related news, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.05, for a total transaction of $406,626.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,106,515.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GD. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 4.0% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,639,758 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,216,599,000 after purchasing an additional 293,316 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 2.5% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,782,612 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,351,041,000 after buying an additional 115,063 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in General Dynamics by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,071,803 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $601,756,000 after acquiring an additional 47,915 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its position in General Dynamics by 1.4% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,680,666 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $474,927,000 after buying an additional 23,262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 1.5% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,606,289 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $466,049,000 after purchasing an additional 23,304 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

GD opened at $301.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.33. General Dynamics has a 52 week low of $232.29 and a 52 week high of $309.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.85 billion, a PE ratio of 24.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $298.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $293.84.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.30 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $11.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.46 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 7.89%. General Dynamics’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.70 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that General Dynamics will post 14.38 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 11th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is 46.33%.

About General Dynamics

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.