General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Cut to “Market Perform” at William Blair

William Blair cut shares of General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on GD. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 target price (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. BTIG Research lowered General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $298.59.

General Dynamics Stock Down 1.3 %

GD stock opened at $243.02 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $259.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $282.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. General Dynamics has a 1-year low of $239.87 and a 1-year high of $316.90. The stock has a market cap of $65.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.61.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share (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%. Analysts expect that General Dynamics will post 14.83 EPS for the current 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 issued a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 41.64%.

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

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Dynamics

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GD. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 40,389.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,379,472 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $416,876,000 after buying an additional 1,376,065 shares during the period. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $279,582,000. State Street Corp lifted 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 worth $3,307,612,000 after buying an additional 943,247 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $197,238,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,780,078 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,265,813,000 after buying an additional 706,317 shares during the period. 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.