General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Price Target Raised to $350.00 at Barclays

Key Points

• Barclays has raised its price target for General Dynamics from $285 to $350, indicating a potential upside of 10.81% from the stock's previous closing price.
• General Dynamics reported $3.74 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations and marking an 8.9% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• Institutional investors hold 86.14% of General Dynamics, with hedge fund activity showing significant increases in ownership among several investment firms recently.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by research analysts at Barclays from $285.00 to $350.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the aerospace company's stock. Barclays's price target would suggest a potential upside of 13.66% from the stock's current price.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on GD. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $314.00 price target on shares of General Dynamics and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Argus set a $295.00 price target on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $315.78.

General Dynamics Stock Down 1.2%

GD stock traded down $3.67 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $307.94. The stock had a trading volume of 136,717 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,484,796. General Dynamics has a one year low of $239.20 and a one year high of $322.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company's 50 day moving average is $290.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $273.57. The company has a market capitalization of $82.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.46.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.27. General Dynamics had a net margin of 8.13% and a return on equity of 17.99%. The business had revenue of $13.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.26 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that General Dynamics will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other news, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 43,860 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.28, for a total value of $13,696,600.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,875 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,452,165. This represents a 52.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Leon Rudy F. De sold 5,490 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.81, for a total transaction of $1,717,326.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 5,483 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,715,137.23. The trade was a 50.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 268,370 shares of company stock valued at $78,408,011. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Dynamics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Retirement Guys Formula LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,692,000. Advisory Resource Group raised its stake in General Dynamics by 7.1% in the first quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 19,200 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $5,234,000 after purchasing an additional 1,276 shares in the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP raised its stake in General Dynamics by 18.9% in the first quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 16,144 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $4,401,000 after purchasing an additional 2,568 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY raised its stake in General Dynamics by 31.6% in the first quarter. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY now owns 33,644 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $9,171,000 after purchasing an additional 8,073 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. raised its stake in General Dynamics by 11.5% in the first quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 16,522 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $4,504,000 after purchasing an additional 1,704 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.