Wells Fargo & Company Boosts General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Price Target to $334.00

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) had its target price lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $330.00 to $334.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group raised General Dynamics from a hold rating to a buy rating and increased their target price for the stock from $305.00 to $335.00 in a research note on Monday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on General Dynamics from $280.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Argus increased their target price on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on General Dynamics from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $311.33.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of GD opened at $290.40 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.33. General Dynamics has a one year low of $214.53 and a one year high of $302.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.69, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $292.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $282.60.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.30 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $11.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.46 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 7.89%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.70 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that General Dynamics will post 14.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be issued a $1.42 dividend. 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%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 6,016 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.58, for a total value of $1,784,225.28. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 76,221 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,605,624.18. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, VP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 6,016 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.58, for a total value of $1,784,225.28. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 76,221 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,605,624.18. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kimberly A. Kuryea sold 13,344 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 79,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,630,670.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 55,069 shares of company stock worth $16,295,101. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of General Dynamics

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GD. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.