General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Receives $283.80 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $283.80.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on GD shares. Alembic Global Advisors lowered shares of General Dynamics from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $296.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $291.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $283.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $291.31 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $279.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $260.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.24, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.68. General Dynamics has a 52 week low of $202.35 and a 52 week high of $296.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.44.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.68 by ($0.04). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.84% and a return on equity of 16.61%. The firm had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.39 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.58 EPS. General Dynamics’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that General Dynamics will post 14.57 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 47.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Mark C. Roualet sold 73,330 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.75, for a total value of $19,414,117.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 149,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,502,023.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,355 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.31, for a total value of $8,551,750.05. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 773,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,569,860.87. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark C. Roualet sold 73,330 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.75, for a total transaction of $19,414,117.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 149,205 shares in the company, valued at $39,502,023.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Dynamics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GD. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 99.3% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 29,045 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $7,542,000 after acquiring an additional 14,468 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec bought a new position in General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $16,077,000. Moreno Evelyn V raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. Moreno Evelyn V now owns 27,310 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,035,000 after acquiring an additional 3,991 shares during the period. Clough Capital Partners L P bought a new position in General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,868,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 57.7% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 326,121 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $72,063,000 after acquiring an additional 119,264 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.