General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) to Issue $1.42 Quarterly Dividend

General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, December 4th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a dividend of 1.42 per share by the aerospace company on Friday, February 7th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th.

General Dynamics has increased its dividend by an average of 6.5% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 33 consecutive years. General Dynamics has a dividend payout ratio of 35.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect General Dynamics to earn $16.07 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $5.68 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 35.3%.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GD opened at $275.15 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $296.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $295.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.32. General Dynamics has a one year low of $247.36 and a one year high of $316.90. The firm has a market cap of $75.66 billion, a PE ratio of 20.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.59.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.48 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.65 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. The business’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.04 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that General Dynamics will post 13.92 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on GD. Seaport Res Ptn lowered General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $317.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of General Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $293.00 to $345.00 in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $333.00 to $352.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.69.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.05, for a total transaction of $406,626.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,592 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,515.60. This trade represents a 26.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.52% 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.