Bank of America Issues Positive Forecast for General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Stock Price

Key Points

• Bank of America raised its price target on General Dynamics from $400 to $415 and reiterated a buy rating, implying about 11.16% upside from the previous close.
• Other analysts remain mostly positive on GD, with the stock holding a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price of $389.15, though a few firms recently adjusted targets both up and down.
• General Dynamics reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue expectations with $4.10 EPS on $13.48 billion in revenue, while the stock traded around $373.34, near its 1-year high.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) had its price target upped by research analysts at Bank of America from $400.00 to $415.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the aerospace company's stock. Bank of America's target price would suggest a potential upside of 11.16% from the stock's previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on GD. DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $384.00 to $375.00 in a report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of General Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on General Dynamics from $410.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on General Dynamics from $327.00 to $313.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $389.15.

General Dynamics Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $373.34 on Monday. General Dynamics has a 1-year low of $292.34 and a 1-year high of $373.60. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $344.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $348.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.96 billion, a PE ratio of 23.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.34.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.67 by $0.43. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 8.07%.The company had revenue of $13.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.70 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.66 EPS. General Dynamics's revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that General Dynamics will post 16.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.29, for a total transaction of $12,596,179.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 38,975 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,457,677.75. This represents a 48.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mark Malcolm sold 5,480 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total transaction of $2,000,200.00. Following the sale, the director owned 10,643 shares in the company, valued at $3,884,695. This represents a 33.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 78,190 shares of company stock worth $27,041,022. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Dynamics

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,767,330 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $8,338,169,000 after acquiring an additional 528,769 shares during the period. Modern Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 114.7% in the third quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,124 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,088,000 after acquiring an additional 3,271 shares during the period. Jain Global LLC boosted its position in General Dynamics by 97.8% in the 3rd quarter. Jain Global LLC now owns 169,305 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $57,733,000 after purchasing an additional 83,692 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in General Dynamics by 155.6% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 104,773 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $35,273,000 after purchasing an additional 63,781 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Planning Hawaii Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,103,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

About General Dynamics

General Dynamics is a major American aerospace and defense contractor that designs, manufactures and supports a broad range of products and services for government and commercial customers worldwide. Headquartered in the United States (Reston, Virginia), the company supplies platforms and systems used by armed forces, civil authorities and private operators across multiple domains including air, land, sea and cyber.

Its principal activities span several operating businesses: a business aviation unit that develops and supports Gulfstream business jets; land systems that produce armored combat vehicles and related logistics and sustainment services; marine systems that design and construct submarines and surface ships for navies; and mission systems and information technology operations that provide command-and-control, communications, cybersecurity and systems-integration services.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.