General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Price Target Increased to $322.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Free Report) had its price objective increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $291.00 to $322.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the aerospace company's stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on GD. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup upped their price objective on General Dynamics from $283.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. StockNews.com downgraded General Dynamics from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note on Saturday, February 3rd. Alembic Global Advisors lowered shares of General Dynamics from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and set a $296.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on General Dynamics from $286.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $278.08.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:GD traded up $1.56 during trading on Thursday, hitting $293.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,390,988 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,087,097. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.44. General Dynamics has a fifty-two week low of $202.35 and a fifty-two week high of $294.56. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $273.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $254.13. The company has a market capitalization of $80.46 billion, a PE ratio of 24.28, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.68.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last issued 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 company had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.39 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.61% and a net margin of 7.84%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.58 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that General Dynamics will post 14.57 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. 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%. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.93%.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Dynamics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GD. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Certified Advisory Corp acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Impact Partnership Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 411.5% during the 3rd quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 133 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.