General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) Receives $388.20 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-one brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $388.20.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $389.00 to $380.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $410.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $387.00 to $377.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other news, EVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 3,819 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.50, for a total transaction of $1,350,016.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 44,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,825,134.50. The trade was a 7.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.29, for a total transaction of $12,596,179.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 38,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,457,677.75. The trade was a 48.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 119,600 shares of company stock worth $41,650,580. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in General Dynamics by 620.0% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 72 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Dagco Inc. purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 1,725.0% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Burkett Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 650.0% in the third quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 75 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GD opened at $334.29 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $90.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.34. General Dynamics has a 52 week low of $268.10 and a 52 week high of $369.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $343.59 and a 200 day moving average of $346.67.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.67 by $0.43. The company had revenue of $13.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.70 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 17.41%. General Dynamics’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.66 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that General Dynamics will post 16.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $1.59 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 10th. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 40.03%.

General Dynamics Company Profile

General Dynamics is a major American aerospace and defense contractor that designs, manufactures and supports a broad range of products and services for government and commercial customers worldwide. Headquartered in the United States (Reston, Virginia), the company supplies platforms and systems used by armed forces, civil authorities and private operators across multiple domains including air, land, sea and cyber.

Its principal activities span several operating businesses: a business aviation unit that develops and supports Gulfstream business jets; land systems that produce armored combat vehicles and related logistics and sustainment services; marine systems that design and construct submarines and surface ships for navies; and mission systems and information technology operations that provide command-and-control, communications, cybersecurity and systems-integration services.