General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Trading 2.6% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)’s share price traded up 2.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $330.00 to $334.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. General Dynamics traded as high as $293.98 and last traded at $292.05. 357,983 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 1,062,513 shares. The stock had previously closed at $284.67.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on GD. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Robert W. Baird restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $345.00 price objective on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $271.00 to $293.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, General Dynamics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $311.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Dynamics news, CFO Kimberly A. Kuryea sold 13,344 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.16, for a total transaction of $3,978,647.04. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 79,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,630,670.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO Kimberly A. Kuryea sold 13,344 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated 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 $23,630,670.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total transaction of $3,914,215.17. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 103,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,816,065.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 68,636 shares of company stock valued at $20,209,317. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Dynamics

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Dynamics Trading Down 0.2 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $292.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $282.16. The company has a market capitalization of $79.80 billion, a PE ratio of 23.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.60.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.30 by ($0.04). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 7.89%. The business had revenue of $11.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.70 earnings per share. General Dynamics’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.52 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 46.33%.

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.