General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Lowered to Hold at Seaport Res Ptn

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) was downgraded by Seaport Res Ptn from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Zacks.com reports.

GD has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Robert W. Baird reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $345.00 price target on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. TD Cowen raised General Dynamics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut General Dynamics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $334.00 to $317.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. BTIG Research began coverage on General Dynamics in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $345.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised General Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $293.00 to $345.00 in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $319.06.

General Dynamics Price Performance

NYSE:GD opened at $299.44 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $297.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $293.52. The firm has a market cap of $82.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.36, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics has a 52-week low of $232.29 and a 52-week high of $309.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.30 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $11.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.46 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 7.89%. General Dynamics’s revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.70 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that General Dynamics will post 14.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,639,758 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,216,599,000 after acquiring an additional 293,316 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in General Dynamics by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,782,612 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,351,041,000 after buying an additional 115,063 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in General Dynamics by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,071,803 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $601,756,000 after buying an additional 47,915 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its position in General Dynamics by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,680,666 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $474,927,000 after buying an additional 23,262 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in General Dynamics by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,606,289 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $466,049,000 after buying an additional 23,304 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.