General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Downgraded by Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has $317.00 price target on the aerospace company’s stock, down from their prior price target of $334.00.

GD has been the topic of several other research reports. Robert W. Baird reissued an outperform rating and set a $345.00 price objective on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a hold rating on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of General Dynamics from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and lifted their target price for the company from $293.00 to $345.00 in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $317.06.

General Dynamics Price Performance

NYSE:GD opened at $300.66 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. General Dynamics has a one year low of $214.53 and a one year high of $309.97. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $297.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $292.93. The stock has a market cap of $82.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.52, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.61.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.30 by ($0.04). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.89% and a return on equity of 16.74%. The company had revenue of $11.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.70 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that General Dynamics will post 14.52 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 11th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 46.33%.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other news, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.05, for a total transaction of $406,626.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,106,515.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Dynamics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GD. LifePlan Financial LLC grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. LifePlan Financial LLC now owns 1,528 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $462,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the period. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics in the third quarter valued at approximately $242,000. Capital Market Strategies LLC grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Market Strategies LLC now owns 1,369 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $414,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Czech National Bank raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 21.3% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 52,532 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $15,875,000 after acquiring an additional 9,208 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 17.3% in the 3rd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 1,583 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $478,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

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.