Susquehanna Lowers General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Price Target to $315.00

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) had its price target lowered by Susquehanna from $330.00 to $315.00 in a research report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Susquehanna currently has a positive rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Vertical Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $331.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded General Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $283.00 to $245.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $330.00 to $290.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $308.18.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD opened at $259.38 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $276.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $289.08. General Dynamics has a 52-week low of $247.36 and a 52-week high of $316.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $71.32 billion, a PE ratio of 19.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.48 by ($0.13). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. The business had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.04 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that General Dynamics will post 13.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.26%.

General Dynamics declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other General Dynamics news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of General Dynamics

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in General Dynamics by 9.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,307,612,000 after acquiring an additional 943,247 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 189,904 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 13.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,674,998,000 after acquiring an additional 638,342 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 0.5% in the third 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 during 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.