General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Trading Up 0.9%

General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)’s share price shot up 0.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $294.92 and last traded at $294.53. 59,134 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 94% from the average session volume of 1,046,294 shares. The stock had previously closed at $291.99.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $280.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $345.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird restated an “outperform” rating and set a $345.00 price target on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $307.94.

General Dynamics Trading Up 0.6 %

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $293.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $280.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market cap of $80.60 billion, a PE ratio of 24.02, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.60.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by ($0.01). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 16.48%. The firm had revenue of $10.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 46.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total transaction of $14,182,325.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 768,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $218,773,956.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other General Dynamics news, CFO Kimberly A. Kuryea sold 13,344 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.16, for a total transaction 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 approximately $23,630,670.80. 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 49,850 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total value of $14,182,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 768,977 shares in the company, valued at $218,773,956.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 118,486 shares of company stock worth $34,391,642 in the last 90 days. 1.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of General Dynamics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 46.8% in the first quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 113 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 1,503 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $425,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its stake in General Dynamics by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 3,299 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $932,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC now owns 1,056 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodward Diversified Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC now owns 1,727 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is 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.