General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $380.71 and last traded at $374.4870, with a volume of 736903 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $376.88.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $384.00 to $375.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $385.00 price target on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on General Dynamics from $410.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on General Dynamics in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $389.15.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.6%

The business’s fifty day moving average is $347.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $348.95. The stock has a market cap of $101.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.57, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.67 by $0.43. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 8.07%.The company had revenue of $13.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.66 EPS. General Dynamics’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be paid a $1.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $6.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 40.03%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.29, for a total transaction of $12,596,179.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 38,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,457,677.75. This trade represents a 48.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mark Malcolm sold 5,480 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total transaction of $2,000,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 10,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,884,695. The trade was a 33.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 78,190 shares of company stock worth $27,041,022 over the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GD. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Dagco Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its position in General Dynamics by 1,725.0% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 650.0% in the 3rd quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 75 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Steph & Co. raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 65.2% during the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Dynamics Company Profile

General Dynamics is a major American aerospace and defense contractor that designs, manufactures and supports a broad range of products and services for government and commercial customers worldwide. Headquartered in the United States (Reston, Virginia), the company supplies platforms and systems used by armed forces, civil authorities and private operators across multiple domains including air, land, sea and cyber.

Its principal activities span several operating businesses: a business aviation unit that develops and supports Gulfstream business jets; land systems that produce armored combat vehicles and related logistics and sustainment services; marine systems that design and construct submarines and surface ships for navies; and mission systems and information technology operations that provide command-and-control, communications, cybersecurity and systems-integration services.