General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $1.50

General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, March 5th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a dividend of 1.50 per share by the aerospace company on Friday, May 9th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. This is a 5.6% increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42.

General Dynamics has increased its dividend by an average of 6.1% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 33 consecutive years. General Dynamics has a payout ratio of 33.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect General Dynamics to earn $17.14 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $5.68 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 33.1%.

General Dynamics Trading Up 4.8 %

Shares of GD traded up $12.14 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $262.94. 4,134,474 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,784,521. The business has a fifty day moving average of $257.79 and a 200-day moving average of $280.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.09 billion, a PE ratio of 19.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. General Dynamics has a 1-year low of $239.87 and a 1-year high of $316.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. Analysts expect that General Dynamics will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on GD shares. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 target price (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Barclays decreased their target price on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on General Dynamics from $276.00 to $244.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.71.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

An institutional investor recently raised its position in General Dynamics stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 16.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,885 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 417 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $760,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. 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.