General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Price Target Lowered to $300.00 at Susquehanna

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) had its price target cut by Susquehanna from $315.00 to $300.00 in a research report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a positive rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on GD. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. 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. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Vertical Research lowered General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $301.24.

General Dynamics Stock Up 2.2 %

General Dynamics stock opened at $256.93 on Thursday. General Dynamics has a 12 month low of $247.01 and a 12 month high of $316.90. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $268.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $287.23. The firm has a market cap of $70.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.84, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.61. 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 (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.08%. Equities analysts predict that General Dynamics will post 15.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 41.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Dynamics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $231,000. Keystone Financial Services raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Keystone Financial Services now owns 2,383 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $628,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth $11,940,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in General Dynamics by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 26,755 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $7,193,000 after purchasing an additional 1,112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in General Dynamics by 37.6% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 8,166 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,152,000 after purchasing an additional 2,233 shares during the last quarter. 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.