The Goldman Sachs Group Raises General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Price Target to $284.00

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) had its price objective upped by The Goldman Sachs Group from $253.00 to $284.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a neutral rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Barclays increased their target price on General Dynamics from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Monday. Citigroup increased their target price on General Dynamics from $283.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. StockNews.com downgraded General Dynamics from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Saturday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on General Dynamics from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on General Dynamics from $291.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $283.80.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.3 %

GD opened at $285.27 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market cap of $78.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.73, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.68. General Dynamics has a 52 week low of $202.35 and a 52 week high of $296.50. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $278.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $259.03.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.68 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.39 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.84% and a return on equity of 16.61%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.58 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics will post 14.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.25%.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, EVP Mark C. Roualet sold 73,330 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.75, for a total transaction of $19,414,117.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 149,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,502,023.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,355 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.31, for a total transaction of $8,551,750.05. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 773,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,569,860.87. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Mark C. Roualet sold 73,330 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.75, for a total value of $19,414,117.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 149,205 shares in the company, valued at $39,502,023.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Dynamics

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GD. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Certified Advisory Corp acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Impact Partnership Wealth LLC grew its stake in General Dynamics by 411.5% during the 3rd quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 133 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.