General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Purchased by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC raised its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 5.4% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 149,874 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,663 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $43,484,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its stake in General Dynamics by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 2,509 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $652,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 251,327 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $65,262,000 after acquiring an additional 1,637 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 17,486 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,541,000 after purchasing an additional 1,875 shares during the last quarter. Eudaimonia Partners LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $240,000. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in General Dynamics by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,455 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $388,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Down 1.0 %

GD stock opened at $299.47 on Thursday. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $214.53 and a one year high of $306.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.33. The company has a fifty day moving average of $291.70 and a 200-day moving average of $289.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.29 billion, a PE ratio of 24.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.61.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.30 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $11.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.46 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 7.89%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.70 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.52 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 11th will be issued a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GD. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $330.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $345.00 price objective for the company. Barclays raised their price objective on General Dynamics from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $315.06.

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.