GAMMA Investing LLC Takes Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 2,297 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $609,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of GD. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in General Dynamics by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,423,961 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,955,023,000 after buying an additional 133,061 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,360,526 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,615,185,000 after acquiring an additional 1,755,276 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC increased its stake in General Dynamics by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 4,017,057 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $887,649,000 after purchasing an additional 17,061 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,293,269 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $506,744,000 after buying an additional 275,947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 4.5% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,258,362 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $499,030,000 after purchasing an additional 97,789 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Dynamics Stock Down 4.8 %

Shares of NYSE GD traded down $14.12 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $278.60. The stock had a trading volume of 2,024,632 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,078,026. 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 company has a market capitalization of $76.44 billion, a PE ratio of 22.95, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.68. General Dynamics Co. has a 12 month low of $202.35 and a 12 month high of $296.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $280.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $261.08.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.68 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.39 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.84% and a return on equity of 16.61%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.58 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 47.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,355 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.31, for a total value 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other General Dynamics news, EVP Mark C. Roualet sold 73,330 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.75, for a total value of $19,414,117.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 149,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,502,023.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,355 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.31, for a total value of $8,551,750.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 773,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $204,569,860.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on General Dynamics from $286.00 to $296.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Alembic Global Advisors lowered shares of General Dynamics from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $296.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, January 29th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $301.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $283.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $291.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.80.

General Dynamics 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.