General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Given New $281.00 Price Target at UBS Group

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) had its target price lowered by equities research analysts at UBS Group from $337.00 to $281.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the aerospace company’s stock. UBS Group’s target price suggests a potential upside of 6.64% from the company’s current price.

GD has been the subject of several other research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $330.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Wolfe Research downgraded General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $330.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $303.28.

General Dynamics Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of GD stock traded down $6.33 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $263.51. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 719,909 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,554,794. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $268.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $287.64. General Dynamics has a 52 week low of $257.26 and a 52 week high of $316.90. The company has a market cap of $72.46 billion, a PE ratio of 20.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.61. 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 announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of General Dynamics

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,205,330 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,292,851,000 after purchasing an additional 109,618 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 9.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,307,612,000 after buying an additional 943,247 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 2.5% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,829,662 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,366,124,000 after buying an additional 189,904 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in General Dynamics by 13.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,674,998,000 after buying an additional 638,342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in General Dynamics by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,940,537 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,493,030,000 after acquiring an additional 24,464 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.