General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Price Target Lowered to $280.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) had its price target cut by Royal Bank of Canada from $290.00 to $280.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Baird R W downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $354.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. TD Cowen cut their target price on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays dropped their target price 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. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $301.24.

General Dynamics Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE:GD opened at $256.93 on Thursday. General Dynamics has a fifty-two week low of $247.01 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $70.65 billion, a PE ratio of 18.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $268.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $287.23.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 7.93%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that General Dynamics will post 15.92 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 41.64%.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GD. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 40,389.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,379,472 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $416,876,000 after purchasing an additional 1,376,065 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in General Dynamics by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,307,612,000 after purchasing an additional 943,247 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,674,998,000 after buying an additional 638,342 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its position in General Dynamics by 117.0% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 858,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $259,469,000 after buying an additional 463,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 43.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 942,485 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $284,818,000 after buying an additional 283,972 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by 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.