General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Price Target Cut to $279.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $295.00 to $279.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the aerospace company's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective suggests a potential upside of 6.75% from the company's previous close.

Several other analysts also recently commented on GD. Wolfe Research downgraded General Dynamics from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Vertical Research cut General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Monday. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $330.00 to $305.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of General Dynamics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $308.18.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE:GD traded up $1.70 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $261.35. The company had a trading volume of 1,120,535 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,471,764. General Dynamics has a twelve month low of $247.36 and a twelve month high of $316.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $71.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $278.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $289.74.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.48 by ($0.13). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. The firm had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.04 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that General Dynamics will post 13.84 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were 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 owns 20,296 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in General Dynamics by 0.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,205,330 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $4,292,851,000 after purchasing an additional 109,618 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,307,612,000 after buying an additional 943,247 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in General Dynamics by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,829,662 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,366,124,000 after buying an additional 189,904 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 638,342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in General Dynamics by 0.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,940,537 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,493,030,000 after acquiring an additional 24,464 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.