JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Price Target to $298.00

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) had its price target lifted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $280.00 to $298.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

GD has been the subject of a number of other research reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on General Dynamics from $286.00 to $296.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on General Dynamics from $291.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Alembic Global Advisors lowered General Dynamics from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and set a $296.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Barclays boosted their price target on General Dynamics from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on General Dynamics from $253.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Four investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $293.43.

General Dynamics Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:GD opened at $284.41 on Thursday. General Dynamics has a 12-month low of $202.35 and a 12-month high of $296.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.68. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $280.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $261.88.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by ($0.01). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 16.48%. The company had revenue of $10.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.64 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that General Dynamics will post 14.57 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be paid a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 46.33%.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,355 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.31, for a total transaction of $8,551,750.05. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 773,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $204,569,860.87. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Dynamics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 3.3% during the first quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. now owns 29,729 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $8,398,000 after purchasing an additional 963 shares during the period. Conning Inc. raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 4.3% during the first quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 129,702 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $36,564,000 after purchasing an additional 5,387 shares during the period. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 4.3% during the first quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,168 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $612,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 1,408.8% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 36,363 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $10,272,000 after purchasing an additional 33,953 shares during the period. Finally, Narwhal Capital Management raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 26.1% during the first quarter. Narwhal Capital Management now owns 32,593 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $9,207,000 after purchasing an additional 6,739 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.