General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Hold" by the twenty-two ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $292.88.

Several research firms recently weighed in on GD. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $261.00 to $236.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Baird R W lowered shares of General Dynamics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $335.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, April 24th.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at $12,297,195.12. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Dynamics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GD. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $339,253,000 after buying an additional 1,241,011 shares in the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $279,582,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth about $197,238,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,780,078 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $6,265,813,000 after purchasing an additional 706,317 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,734,148 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,774,381,000 after purchasing an additional 463,497 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of General Dynamics stock traded up $1.70 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $273.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,637,735 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,364,463. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $266.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $271.38. The company has a market capitalization of $73.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43. General Dynamics has a one year low of $239.20 and a one year high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.43 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $12.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.92 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. General Dynamics's revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.88 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that General Dynamics will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This is a positive change from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.61%.

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.