Robert W. Baird Reiterates “Outperform” Rating for General Dynamics (NYSE:GD)

Robert W. Baird reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) in a report released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. Robert W. Baird currently has a $345.00 target price on the aerospace company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on GD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on General Dynamics from $280.00 to $298.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. StockNews.com lowered General Dynamics from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on General Dynamics from $253.00 to $284.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Argus boosted their target price on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, BTIG Research assumed coverage on General Dynamics in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a buy rating and a $345.00 target price on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $305.56.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of GD stock opened at $284.88 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $78.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.60. General Dynamics has a fifty-two week low of $211.94 and a fifty-two week high of $302.75. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $294.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $278.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.44.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.89 by ($0.01). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 16.48%. The firm had revenue of $10.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics will post 14.56 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.33%.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total transaction of $14,182,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 768,977 shares in the company, valued at $218,773,956.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total transaction of $14,182,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 768,977 shares in the company, valued at $218,773,956.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kimberly A. Kuryea sold 13,344 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.16, for a total value of $3,978,647.04. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 79,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,630,670.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 118,486 shares of company stock worth $34,391,642. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of General Dynamics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in General Dynamics by 46.8% in the first quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 113 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co increased its position in General Dynamics by 2.5% in the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 1,503 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $425,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its position in General Dynamics by 1.1% in the first quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 3,299 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $932,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC increased its position in General Dynamics by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC now owns 1,056 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodward Diversified Capital LLC increased its position in General Dynamics by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC now owns 1,727 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $448,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

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.