Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft Cuts General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Price Target to $295.00

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) had its price objective trimmed by Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from $303.00 to $295.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a hold rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

GD has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. TD Cowen upgraded General Dynamics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wolfe Research cut General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Seaport Res Ptn cut General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $314.19.

General Dynamics Price Performance

General Dynamics stock opened at $263.37 on Thursday. General Dynamics has a 12 month low of $247.36 and a 12 month high of $316.90. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $280.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $290.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.42 billion, a PE ratio of 20.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.59.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.48 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.65 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 7.90%. General Dynamics’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.04 EPS. Equities analysts predict that General Dynamics will post 13.84 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 43.26%.

General Dynamics declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Dynamics

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. TIAA Trust National Association increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 8,039 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,332,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 19,524 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,665,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 909 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $286,000. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $209,000. 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.