General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Hold" from the twenty-one research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have assigned a hold recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $297.12.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on GD shares. BTIG Research downgraded General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $283.00 target price (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wolfe Research cut shares of General Dynamics from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $261.00 to $236.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

GD traded up $17.70 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $272.10. 2,676,083 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,341,081. The company's 50-day moving average is $258.79 and its 200 day moving average is $274.17. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $73.03 billion, a PE ratio of 19.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43. General Dynamics has a 52 week low of $239.20 and a 52 week high of $316.90.

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General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. On average, research analysts expect that General Dynamics will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. This is a boost from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics's payout ratio is 43.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at $12,297,195.12. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of General Dynamics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GD. Sentry Investment Management LLC increased its position in General Dynamics by 6.8% during the first quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC now owns 815 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $202,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 2,942 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $802,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its position in General Dynamics by 28.9% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 11,154 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $3,040,000 after purchasing an additional 2,501 shares during the period. Roxbury Financial LLC lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 4.2% in the first quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC now owns 1,374 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 107,042.9% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 7,500 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,044,000 after buying an additional 7,493 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

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.