General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Given New $330.00 Price Target at Royal Bank of Canada

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) had its target price boosted by Royal Bank of Canada from $320.00 to $330.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on GD. Susquehanna raised their price target on General Dynamics from $333.00 to $352.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of General Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $293.00 to $345.00 in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $317.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Seaport Res Ptn cut General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $320.00 to $314.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.88.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GD traded up $1.81 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $303.08. The company had a trading volume of 137,699 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,089,595. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. General Dynamics has a 1 year low of $236.58 and a 1 year high of $313.11. The company has a market capitalization of $83.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $300.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $294.55.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 7.89% and a return on equity of 16.74%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.04 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that General Dynamics will post 14.38 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 11th will be paid a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is 46.33%.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.05, for a total value of $406,626.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,106,515.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of General Dynamics

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the first quarter valued at $25,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 241.7% during the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. 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.