General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $380.71 and last traded at $374.4870, with a volume of 736903 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $376.88.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised General Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $410.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $400.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $391.15.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.38. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $349.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $349.46. The company has a market cap of $101.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.34.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.67 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $13.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.70 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 17.41%. General Dynamics’s revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.66 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.59 per share. This represents a $6.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is 40.03%.

Insider Activity

In other General Dynamics news, Director Mark Malcolm sold 5,480 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total value of $2,000,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 10,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,884,695. This trade represents a 33.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.29, for a total value of $12,596,179.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 38,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,457,677.75. This represents a 48.35% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 78,190 shares of company stock valued at $27,041,022. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of General Dynamics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GD. Community Financial Services Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 198.5% during the second quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 388 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $141,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. lifted its position in General Dynamics by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 3,612 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,280,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 933 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 756 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allied Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the second quarter valued at approximately $98,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Company Profile

General Dynamics is a major American aerospace and defense contractor that designs, manufactures and supports a broad range of products and services for government and commercial customers worldwide. Headquartered in the United States (Reston, Virginia), the company supplies platforms and systems used by armed forces, civil authorities and private operators across multiple domains including air, land, sea and cyber.

Its principal activities span several operating businesses: a business aviation unit that develops and supports Gulfstream business jets; land systems that produce armored combat vehicles and related logistics and sustainment services; marine systems that design and construct submarines and surface ships for navies; and mission systems and information technology operations that provide command-and-control, communications, cybersecurity and systems-integration services.