General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Price Target Lowered to $241.00 at The Goldman Sachs Group

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) had its price objective trimmed by The Goldman Sachs Group from $245.00 to $241.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning. The firm currently has a sell rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $330.00 to $315.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Vertical Research downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $330.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $354.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, General Dynamics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $303.28.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD stock opened at $262.33 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $268.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $287.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics has a 12 month low of $257.26 and a 12 month high of $316.90.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.26%.

General Dynamics announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of General Dynamics

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GD. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,376,065 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 9.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,307,612,000 after purchasing an additional 943,247 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,674,998,000 after purchasing an additional 638,342 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake 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 worth $259,469,000 after purchasing an additional 463,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 43.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 942,485 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $284,818,000 after buying an additional 283,972 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently 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.