The Goldman Sachs Group Downgrades General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) to Sell

The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Free Report) from a neutral rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has $245.00 price objective on the aerospace company's stock, down from their prior price objective of $283.00.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. 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 research note on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of General Dynamics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $309.00 to $306.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $317.38.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE:GD traded down $1.62 on Thursday, reaching $263.81. 1,539,224 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,131,615. The company has a market capitalization of $72.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.07, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. General Dynamics has a 12 month low of $247.36 and a 12 month high of $316.90. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $293.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $294.20.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.48 by ($0.13). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 7.90%. The company had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.04 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that General Dynamics will post 13.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other news, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.05, for a total value of $406,626.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,592 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,106,515.60. The trade was a 26.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.52% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Dynamics

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in General Dynamics by 40,389.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,379,472 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $416,876,000 after purchasing an additional 1,376,065 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in General Dynamics by 9.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $3,307,612,000 after purchasing an additional 943,247 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in General Dynamics by 13.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,674,998,000 after purchasing an additional 638,342 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in General Dynamics by 117.0% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 858,600 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $259,469,000 after purchasing an additional 463,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in General Dynamics by 2,189.3% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 374,207 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $108,572,000 after purchasing an additional 357,861 shares during 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.