Barclays Cuts General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Price Target to $305.00

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) had its target price trimmed by Barclays from $330.00 to $305.00 in a research report report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on GD. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $330.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup raised their price objective on General Dynamics from $331.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $308.18.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE:GD opened at $261.35 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $71.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. General Dynamics has a 52 week low of $247.36 and a 52 week high of $316.90. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $277.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $289.54.

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

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.26%.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of General Dynamics

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norway Savings Bank lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Norway Savings Bank now owns 3,983 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,049,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 2,221 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $585,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Capital Market Strategies LLC grew its stake in General Dynamics by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital Market Strategies LLC now owns 1,492 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $393,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 1,683 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 17.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 297,577 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $89,928,000 after buying an additional 44,387 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.