General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Hits New 52-Week High at $285.86

General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $285.86 and last traded at $285.86, with a volume of 2630 shares. The stock had previously closed at $282.49.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on GD shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on General Dynamics from $286.00 to $296.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on General Dynamics from $283.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Alembic Global Advisors cut General Dynamics from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $296.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $271.69.

General Dynamics Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $271.58 and a 200-day moving average of $252.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.26, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.68.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.68 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.39 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.84% and a return on equity of 16.61%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.58 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. This is a boost from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. General Dynamics's payout ratio is currently 47.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,355 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.31, for a total transaction of $8,551,750.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 773,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,569,860.87. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,355 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.31, for a total transaction of $8,551,750.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 773,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,569,860.87. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Mark C. Roualet sold 73,330 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.75, for a total value of $19,414,117.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 149,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at $39,502,023.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Dynamics

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,423,961 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $4,955,023,000 after purchasing an additional 133,061 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,360,526 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $3,615,185,000 after purchasing an additional 1,755,276 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in General Dynamics by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,932,541 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,136,986,000 after acquiring an additional 39,597 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in General Dynamics by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,667,549 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,212,024,000 after acquiring an additional 345,554 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in General Dynamics by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,228,831 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $962,711,000 after acquiring an additional 259,855 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company's stock.

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.