Wells Fargo & Company Cuts General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Price Target to $276.00

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) had its price objective decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $279.00 to $276.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on GD. Susquehanna dropped their target price on General Dynamics from $330.00 to $315.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Baird R W cut shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $354.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $283.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $301.24.

General Dynamics Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE GD opened at $257.17 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $70.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. General Dynamics has a 12 month low of $247.01 and a 12 month high of $316.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $267.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $286.83.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 7.93%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that General Dynamics will post 15.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 41.64%.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of General Dynamics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 241.7% in the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

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.