Spire Wealth Management Acquires 1,014 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Spire Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 24.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,224 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,014 shares during the quarter. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,303,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Kerntke Otto McGlone Wealth Management Group bought a new position in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth $227,000. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,478 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $384,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. TCG Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $276,000. Red Cedar Investment Management LLC raised its stake in General Dynamics by 60.3% in the fourth quarter. Red Cedar Investment Management LLC now owns 8,076 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,097,000 after purchasing an additional 3,038 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $308,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $293.37 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $80.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.67. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $202.35 and a twelve month high of $296.50. The company’s fifty day moving average is $283.23 and its 200 day moving average is $264.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.89 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $10.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.26 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 16.48%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.64 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.55 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 is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on GD. Barclays upped 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on General Dynamics from $291.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on General Dynamics from $325.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. UBS Group lifted their target price on General Dynamics from $286.00 to $296.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $300.53.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In related news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total value of $14,182,325.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 768,977 shares in the company, valued at $218,773,956.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other General Dynamics news, Director Leon Rudy F. De sold 2,570 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.00, for a total value of $740,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,589,184. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total transaction of $14,182,325.00. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 65,987 shares of company stock worth $18,836,700 over the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.