General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Price Target Lowered to $335.00 at Citigroup

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) had its target price decreased by Citigroup from $360.00 to $335.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wolfe Research downgraded General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $283.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $298.59.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $256.17 on Monday. General Dynamics has a twelve month low of $247.01 and a twelve month high of $316.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market cap of $70.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $264.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $285.57.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 EPS 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 17.10%. As a group, research analysts expect that General Dynamics will post 14.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were given a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.64%.

General Dynamics declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of General Dynamics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 0.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,205,330 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,292,851,000 after purchasing an additional 109,618 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 9.4% in 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 during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $2,366,124,000 after buying an additional 189,904 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,674,998,000 after acquiring an additional 638,342 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,940,537 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,493,030,000 after acquiring an additional 24,464 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.