Brokerages Set General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Target Price at $293.00

Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the twenty-two research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fourteen have assigned a hold recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $293.00.

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $261.00 to $236.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $335.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Dynamics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GD. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in General Dynamics by 34,578.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,244,600 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $339,253,000 after acquiring an additional 1,241,011 shares during the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $279,582,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the first quarter worth $272,464,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $197,238,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in General Dynamics by 34.8% during the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,748,380 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $749,252,000 after acquiring an additional 709,782 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

GD traded up $0.87 on Friday, reaching $274.51. 90,584 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,370,860. The company's 50-day moving average price is $271.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $267.79. General Dynamics has a fifty-two week low of $239.20 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.68 billion, a PE ratio of 20.09, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.49.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.43 by $0.23. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. The business had revenue of $12.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.88 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that General Dynamics will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th were issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 11th. This is a boost from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.61%.

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.