General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Stock Rating Lowered by BTIG Research

BTIG Research cut shares of General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Wolfe Research lowered General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 price target (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their target price on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $298.59.

General Dynamics Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE GD opened at $241.98 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $65.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $261.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $284.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. General Dynamics has a 12-month low of $239.87 and a 12-month high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. Equities research analysts expect that General Dynamics will post 14.84 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were paid a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.64%.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Dynamics

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 40,389.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,379,472 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $416,876,000 after buying an additional 1,376,065 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 943,247 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth $197,238,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,780,078 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,265,813,000 after purchasing an additional 706,317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 13.0% in the 3rd 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. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.