General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Sets New 1-Year High at $297.70

Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $297.70 and last traded at $297.70, with a volume of 1551 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $295.18.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on GD. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $286.00 to $296.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Alembic Global Advisors downgraded General Dynamics from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $296.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on General Dynamics from $291.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Citigroup upped their price target on General Dynamics from $283.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $278.08.

General Dynamics Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The business's 50-day moving average price is $275.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $255.32. The firm has a market cap of $80.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.68.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.68 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $11.67 billion for 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 company's revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.58 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. This is a positive change from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,355 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.31, for a total value of $8,551,750.05. Following 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Mark C. Roualet sold 73,330 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.75, for a total transaction of $19,414,117.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 149,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,502,023.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,355 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.31, for a total value of $8,551,750.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 773,977 shares of the company's stock, valued at $204,569,860.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Dynamics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Certified Advisory Corp acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Impact Partnership Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 411.5% during the third quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 133 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. 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.