General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Price Target Raised to $350.00

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) had its price objective hoisted by Robert W. Baird from $283.00 to $350.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on GD. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded General Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $298.00 to $342.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Argus set a $295.00 target price on General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $300.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $314.00 price objective on General Dynamics and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $312.17.

General Dynamics Price Performance

GD stock opened at $313.92 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $287.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $272.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $84.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.07, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.46. General Dynamics has a fifty-two week low of $239.20 and a fifty-two week high of $322.50.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.27. General Dynamics had a net margin of 8.13% and a return on equity of 17.99%. The company had revenue of $13.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.26 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 40.27%.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 178,821 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.13, for a total value of $50,629,589.73. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 769,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $217,898,829.91. The trade was a 18.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of General Dynamics

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Rialto Wealth Management LLC raised its position in General Dynamics by 213.8% in the first quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 91 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Copia Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.