Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Stock Price

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) had its target price lowered by Wells Fargo & Company from $261.00 to $236.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. TD Cowen decreased their price target on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Vertical Research lowered General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.82.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD opened at $272.13 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $73.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.95, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business’s 50 day moving average is $259.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $273.94. General Dynamics has a 52-week low of $239.20 and a 52-week high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Analysts forecast that General Dynamics will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total transaction of $7,499,895.82. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,297,195.12. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of General Dynamics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in General Dynamics by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,689 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,553,000 after buying an additional 1,283 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth $607,000. Hickory Point Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $692,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 69.1% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 261,992 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $69,032,000 after purchasing an additional 107,095 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at $550,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.