General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) Receives $294.47 Average PT from Brokerages

General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty-two research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have given a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $294.53.

GD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $325.00 price target on General Dynamics and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on General Dynamics from $261.00 to $236.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. TD Securities increased their price target on General Dynamics from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of GD opened at $299.97 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.46. General Dynamics has a 1 year low of $239.20 and a 1 year high of $316.90. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $283.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $270.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.43 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $12.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.92 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.82% and a net margin of 8.08%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.88 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that General Dynamics will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 41.61%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 178,821 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.13, for a total transaction of $50,629,589.73. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 769,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $217,898,829.91. This represents a 18.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Dynamics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in General Dynamics by 34,578.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,244,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $339,253,000 after purchasing an additional 1,241,011 shares in the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth about $279,582,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the first quarter worth about $272,464,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 34.8% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,748,380 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $749,252,000 after acquiring an additional 709,782 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,780,078 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,265,813,000 after acquiring an additional 706,317 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.