General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Price Target Cut to $285.00 by Analysts at Barclays

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) had its price objective cut by Barclays from $305.00 to $285.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

GD has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Vertical Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $300.06.

General Dynamics Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $255.41 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.23 billion, a PE ratio of 18.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics has a 52 week low of $247.01 and a 52 week high of $316.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $265.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $286.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that General Dynamics will post 14.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.64%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of General Dynamics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GD. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in General Dynamics by 0.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,205,330 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,292,851,000 after buying an additional 109,618 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 9.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,307,612,000 after purchasing an additional 943,247 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in General Dynamics by 2.5% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,829,662 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,366,124,000 after purchasing an additional 189,904 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in General Dynamics by 13.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,674,998,000 after purchasing an additional 638,342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in General Dynamics by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,940,537 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,493,030,000 after buying an additional 24,464 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.