General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) PT Raised to $310.00

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) had its price target boosted by Barclays from $285.00 to $310.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on GD. StockNews.com downgraded General Dynamics from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Saturday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on General Dynamics from $291.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Alembic Global Advisors downgraded 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on General Dynamics from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on General Dynamics from $283.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $283.80.

General Dynamics Price Performance

General Dynamics stock opened at $285.27 on Monday. General Dynamics has a 12 month low of $202.35 and a 12 month high of $296.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $278.70 and its 200-day moving average is $259.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a market capitalization of $78.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.73, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.68.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.68 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.39 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.84% and a return on equity of 16.61%. General Dynamics’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.58 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that General Dynamics will post 14.57 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be paid a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.25%.

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 149,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,502,023.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 149,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,502,023.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,355 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 773,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $204,569,860.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of General Dynamics

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Certified Advisory Corp acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Legend Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 46.8% in the 1st quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 113 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.