General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Hits New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $239.20 and last traded at $240.56, with a volume of 133127 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $250.01.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Vertical Research cut General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, BTIG Research downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $297.12.

General Dynamics Stock Up 7.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37. The company has a market capitalization of $73.03 billion, a PE ratio of 19.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43. The company’s fifty day moving average is $258.19 and its 200-day moving average is $274.44.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. As a group, analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 43.99%.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Dynamics

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sentry Investment Management LLC increased its stake in General Dynamics by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC now owns 815 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $202,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 2.3% in the first quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 2,942 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $802,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in General Dynamics by 28.9% in the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 11,154 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,040,000 after purchasing an additional 2,501 shares during the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC lifted its position in General Dynamics by 4.2% during the first quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC now owns 1,374 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 107,042.9% in the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 7,500 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,044,000 after buying an additional 7,493 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently 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.