General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Cut to “Hold” at Baird R W

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) was downgraded by Baird R W from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut General Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $283.00 to $245.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective 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. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $330.00 to $315.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $330.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $330.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $304.53.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of GD opened at $264.92 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $72.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.18, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $275.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $288.61. General Dynamics has a 12 month low of $247.36 and a 12 month high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued 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). The company had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.65 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 7.90%. General Dynamics’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.04 EPS. Analysts predict that General Dynamics will post 13.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of General Dynamics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GD. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 4,685 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,359,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 4.2% in the second quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,664 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,804,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Alliance boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 17.4% in the second quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 1,206 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 3.6% in the second quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 15,789 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,581,000 after purchasing an additional 548 shares during the period. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its stake in General Dynamics by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 7,975 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,314,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.