General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Price Target Raised to $284.00 at The Goldman Sachs Group

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) had its price objective raised by The Goldman Sachs Group from $253.00 to $284.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Alembic Global Advisors downgraded General Dynamics from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and set a $296.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 29th. StockNews.com downgraded General Dynamics from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note on Saturday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on General Dynamics from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Barclays boosted their target price on General Dynamics from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on General Dynamics from $283.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, General Dynamics presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $283.80.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD stock opened at $285.27 on Tuesday. General Dynamics has a 1-year low of $202.35 and a 1-year high of $296.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a market capitalization of $78.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.68. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $278.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $259.03.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.68 by ($0.04). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.84% and a return on equity of 16.61%. The business had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.58 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that General Dynamics will post 14.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Dynamics news, EVP Mark C. Roualet sold 73,330 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.75, for a total transaction of $19,414,117.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 149,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,502,023.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Mark C. Roualet sold 73,330 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.75, for a total value of $19,414,117.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 149,205 shares in the company, valued at $39,502,023.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,355 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.31, for a total value of $8,551,750.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 773,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,569,860.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Dynamics

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 99.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 29,045 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,542,000 after purchasing an additional 14,468 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the third quarter worth $16,077,000. Moreno Evelyn V raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 17.1% in the third quarter. Moreno Evelyn V now owns 27,310 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,035,000 after purchasing an additional 3,991 shares during the period. Clough Capital Partners L P acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the third quarter worth $26,868,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 57.7% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 326,121 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $72,063,000 after purchasing an additional 119,264 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.