Royal Bank of Canada Lowers General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Price Target to $320.00

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Free Report) had its target price decreased by Royal Bank of Canada from $325.00 to $320.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the aerospace company's stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com lowered General Dynamics from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note on Saturday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $291.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on General Dynamics from $301.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a positive rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on General Dynamics from $253.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on General Dynamics from $286.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $285.63.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE GD traded up $3.86 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $284.97. The company had a trading volume of 1,769,633 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,113,098. 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 stock has a market cap of $78.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.68. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $280.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $261.22. General Dynamics has a fifty-two week low of $202.35 and a fifty-two week high of $296.50.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.89 by ($0.01). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.61% and a net margin of 7.84%. The business had revenue of $10.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.64 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that General Dynamics will post 14.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. This is a positive change from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is presently 47.25%.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,355 shares of the company'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 of the company's stock, valued at $204,569,860.87. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Mark C. Roualet sold 73,330 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The shares were 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 directly owns 149,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at $39,502,023.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,355 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, 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. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 11.8% during the first quarter. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas now owns 114,155 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $32,248,000 after purchasing an additional 12,027 shares during the period. Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc. now owns 20,670 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $5,839,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the period. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 8.4% during the first quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 6,215 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,756,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 10.8% in the first quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,510 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 2,758 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $779,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.