WealthTrust Axiom LLC Purchases New Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

WealthTrust Axiom LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 867 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $225,000.

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

General Dynamics Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $287.16 on Wednesday. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $202.35 and a fifty-two week high of $296.50. The business’s fifty day moving average is $281.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $262.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market cap of $78.79 billion, a PE ratio of 23.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.68.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 7.85%. The business had revenue of $10.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.64 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.55 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 46.33%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total transaction of $3,914,215.17. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 103,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,816,065.95. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total transaction of $14,182,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 768,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $218,773,956.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total transaction of $3,914,215.17. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 103,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,816,065.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $280.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Argus increased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $305.00 to $335.00 in a research report on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $297.06.

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.