Barclays Boosts General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Price Target to $325.00

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) had its price objective increased by Barclays from $310.00 to $325.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on GD. Jefferies Financial Group raised General Dynamics from a hold rating to a buy rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $305.00 to $335.00 in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $253.00 to $284.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on General Dynamics in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a buy rating and a $345.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $271.00 to $293.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $312.17.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD opened at $293.43 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $292.30 and its 200-day moving average is $283.32. General Dynamics has a 12-month low of $214.53 and a 12-month high of $302.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.60.

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

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 46.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In related news, CFO Kimberly A. Kuryea sold 13,344 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.16, for a total value of $3,978,647.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 79,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,630,670.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Kimberly A. Kuryea sold 13,344 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.16, for a total value of $3,978,647.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 79,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,630,670.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP William A. Moss sold 21,050 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.85, for a total value of $6,206,592.50. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 16,624 shares in the company, valued at $4,901,586.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,499 shares of company stock valued at $15,554,941 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Dynamics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GD. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at $728,284,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 10,763.2% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 923,593 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $239,829,000 after acquiring an additional 915,091 shares during the last quarter. Verity & Verity LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the 1st quarter valued at about $179,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 3,645.4% in the fourth quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 558,586 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $145,048,000 after acquiring an additional 543,672 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 879.9% during the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 340,359 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $96,148,000 after purchasing an additional 305,624 shares in 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.