Citigroup Boosts General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Price Target to $320.00

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) had its price objective boosted by Citigroup from $300.00 to $320.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

GD has been the topic of several other reports. Barclays boosted their price target on General Dynamics from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on General Dynamics from $253.00 to $284.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on General Dynamics from $280.00 to $298.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday. Alembic Global Advisors lowered General Dynamics from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and set a $296.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on General Dynamics from $291.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $285.63.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GD traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $284.98. 689,106 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,107,321. General Dynamics has a 1-year low of $202.35 and a 1-year high of $296.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.24, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.68. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $280.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $261.39.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.89 by ($0.01). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 7.85%. The business had revenue of $10.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.64 EPS. General Dynamics’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that General Dynamics will post 14.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,355 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.31, for a total value of $8,551,750.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 773,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,569,860.87. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth about $728,284,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,360,526 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,615,185,000 after acquiring an additional 1,755,276 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 10,763.2% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 923,593 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $239,829,000 after acquiring an additional 915,091 shares in the last quarter. Verity & Verity LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 1st quarter valued at about $179,000. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 3,645.4% in the 4th quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 558,586 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $145,048,000 after purchasing an additional 543,672 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.