General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Receives $315.06 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eighteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $315.06.

A number of brokerages have commented on GD. Morgan Stanley raised General Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $293.00 to $345.00 in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on General Dynamics from $330.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Robert W. Baird restated an “outperform” rating and set a $345.00 price objective on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Monday, July 29th.

Insider Activity

In other General Dynamics news, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.05, for a total transaction of $406,626.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,592 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,515.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Dynamics

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $728,284,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in General Dynamics by 3,645.4% during the 4th quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 558,586 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $145,048,000 after acquiring an additional 543,672 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 879.9% in the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 340,359 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $96,148,000 after purchasing an additional 305,624 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,639,758 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,216,599,000 after purchasing an additional 293,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 24.2% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,347,247 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $391,119,000 after purchasing an additional 262,164 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

GD opened at $304.77 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $83.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $294.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $290.74. General Dynamics has a 52-week low of $214.53 and a 52-week high of $309.97.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.30 by ($0.04). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.89% and a return on equity of 16.74%. The company had revenue of $11.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.70 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that General Dynamics will post 14.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 11th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 11th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.33%.

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.