General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Price Target Raised to $284.00 at The Goldman Sachs Group

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) had its price target boosted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $253.00 to $284.00 in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

GD has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on General Dynamics from $291.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays boosted their target price on General Dynamics from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group boosted their target price on General Dynamics from $286.00 to $296.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Alembic Global Advisors lowered General Dynamics from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and set a $296.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on General Dynamics from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $283.80.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of GD stock opened at $285.21 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $78.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.68. General Dynamics has a one year low of $202.35 and a one year high of $296.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $278.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $258.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.84% and a return on equity of 16.61%. The company had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.58 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that General Dynamics will post 14.57 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Dynamics news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,355 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 773,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,569,860.87. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 stock was sold at an average price of $264.75, for a total value of $19,414,117.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 149,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,502,023.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,355 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 773,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,569,860.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Dynamics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Toth Financial Advisory Corp increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 1.0% in the first quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 21,834 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,168,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the period. Avity Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 33.8% in the first quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,070 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. Webster Bank N. A. increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 5.7% in the first quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 15,462 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,368,000 after buying an additional 839 shares during the period. Norway Savings Bank increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 5.1% in the first quarter. Norway Savings Bank now owns 3,293 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $930,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. Finally, Kathmere Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 6.6% in the first quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 3,112 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $879,000 after buying an additional 193 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.