General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Stock Price Up 0.2%

General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)’s stock price rose 0.2% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $298.47 and last traded at $297.65. Approximately 90,824 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 1,078,424 shares. The stock had previously closed at $297.06.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $301.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on General Dynamics from $280.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on General Dynamics from $325.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $253.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Argus lifted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $300.63.

General Dynamics Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.40, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.67. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $288.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $268.84.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by ($0.01). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 7.85%. The company had revenue of $10.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.64 earnings per share. General Dynamics’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th were issued a $1.42 dividend. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Kimberly A. Kuryea sold 13,344 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.16, for a total transaction of $3,978,647.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 79,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,630,670.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total value of $14,182,325.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 768,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $218,773,956.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kimberly A. Kuryea sold 13,344 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.16, for a total transaction of $3,978,647.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 79,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,630,670.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 118,486 shares of company stock worth $34,391,642. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of General Dynamics

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GD. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.