General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Lifted to “Overweight” at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $345.00 price objective on the aerospace company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $293.00.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on GD. Robert W. Baird reiterated an outperform rating and set a $345.00 price target on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. BTIG Research started coverage on General Dynamics in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a buy rating and a $345.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on General Dynamics from $330.00 to $334.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of General Dynamics from a hold rating to a buy rating and increased their price objective for the company from $305.00 to $335.00 in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $315.06.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE GD opened at $292.99 on Friday. General Dynamics has a fifty-two week low of $214.53 and a fifty-two week high of $302.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.60. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $291.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $285.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.33.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.30 by ($0.04). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.89% and a return on equity of 16.74%. The firm had revenue of $11.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.70 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics will post 14.5 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 11th will be paid a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 11th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 46.33%.

Insider Activity

In other General Dynamics news, VP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 12,089 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.59, for a total transaction of $3,585,476.51. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 64,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,020,909.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Kimberly A. Kuryea sold 13,344 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.16, for a total transaction of $3,978,647.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 79,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,630,670.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 12,089 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.59, for a total transaction of $3,585,476.51. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 64,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,020,909.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $728,284,000. Verity & Verity LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the first quarter worth about $179,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 3,645.4% during the 4th quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 558,586 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $145,048,000 after buying an additional 543,672 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 879.9% in the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 340,359 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $96,148,000 after acquiring an additional 305,624 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,639,758 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,216,599,000 after buying an additional 293,316 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

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.