General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Lowered to "Equal Weight" Rating by Morgan Stanley

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Morgan Stanley from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $305.00 target price on the aerospace company's stock, down from their prior target price of $315.00. Morgan Stanley's price objective indicates a potential upside of 12.01% from the company's current price.

GD has been the topic of several other reports. BTIG Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of 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. William Blair cut shares of General Dynamics from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, General Dynamics presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $294.47.

General Dynamics Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of General Dynamics stock traded down $3.79 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $272.29. 496,182 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,358,269. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $261.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $272.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43. General Dynamics has a twelve month low of $239.20 and a twelve month high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. Research analysts forecast that General Dynamics will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total transaction 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 $12,297,195.12. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Purus Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Purus Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,660 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $701,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $277,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Thrive Wealth Management LLC increased its position in General Dynamics by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,002 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $546,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Austin Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in General Dynamics by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Austin Wealth Management LLC now owns 826 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $220,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 35.8% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 163 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company's stock.

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.