Seaport Res Ptn Lowers General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) to Hold

Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Friday morning, Zacks.com reports.

GD has been the topic of several other reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on General Dynamics from $320.00 to $314.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays increased their target price on General Dynamics from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $331.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of General Dynamics from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and raised their price objective for the company from $293.00 to $345.00 in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $319.06.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of GD stock opened at $301.97 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $298.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $293.84. General Dynamics has a one year low of $232.29 and a one year high of $309.97. The firm has a market cap of $82.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.30 by ($0.04). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.89% and a return on equity of 16.74%. The firm had revenue of $11.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.70 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that General Dynamics will post 14.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 11th will be given a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 11th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is 46.33%.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.05, for a total value of $406,626.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,106,515.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Dynamics

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Creative Planning raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 4.2% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 46,948 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $14,188,000 after acquiring an additional 1,906 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 354 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Boston Mountain Money Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 17.3% in the third quarter. Boston Mountain Money Management Inc. now owns 1,384 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Affinity Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 18.1% during the third quarter. Affinity Wealth Management LLC now owns 856 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the period. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the third quarter worth about $702,000. 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.