JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Price Target to $284.00

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) had its price target trimmed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $307.00 to $284.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Citigroup boosted their price objective on General Dynamics from $354.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 target price (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $330.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Baird R W lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $301.24.

General Dynamics Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of GD opened at $256.93 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $268.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $287.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics has a twelve month low of $247.01 and a twelve month high of $316.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 7.93%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that General Dynamics will post 15.92 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 41.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of General Dynamics 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Dynamics

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of GD. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 0.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,205,330 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,292,851,000 after acquiring an additional 109,618 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 9.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in General Dynamics by 2.5% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,829,662 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,366,124,000 after acquiring an additional 189,904 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $1,674,998,000 after purchasing an additional 638,342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 0.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,940,537 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,493,030,000 after buying an additional 24,464 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently 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.