Morgan Stanley Downgrades General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) to Equal Weight

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) was downgraded by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. They currently have a $305.00 price objective on the aerospace company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target points to a potential upside of 10.04% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Vertical Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. BTIG Research cut General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on General Dynamics from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group dropped their target price on General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $261.00 to $236.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $294.47.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.6 %

GD stock opened at $277.18 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $260.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $273.46. The company has a market capitalization of $74.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. General Dynamics has a 12 month low of $239.20 and a 12 month high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts forecast that General Dynamics will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total transaction of $7,499,895.82. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Dynamics

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Purus Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in General Dynamics by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Purus Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,660 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $701,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Thrive Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,002 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $546,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Austin Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in General Dynamics by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Austin Wealth Management LLC now owns 826 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $220,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in General Dynamics by 35.8% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 163 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

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.