Fonville Wealth Management LLC Purchases New Shares in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Fonville Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 9,635 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,502,000. General Dynamics accounts for approximately 1.3% of Fonville Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth about $607,393,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in 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 worth $3,615,185,000 after purchasing an additional 1,755,276 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in General Dynamics by 484.2% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,749,729 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $399,306,000 after purchasing an additional 1,450,213 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in General Dynamics by 91,832.2% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,386,337 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $343,964,000 after purchasing an additional 1,384,829 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in General Dynamics by 10,763.2% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 923,593 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $239,829,000 after purchasing an additional 915,091 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,355 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 773,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,569,860.87. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Mark C. Roualet sold 73,330 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.75, for a total transaction of $19,414,117.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 149,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,502,023.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,355 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on GD shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on General Dynamics from $291.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Susquehanna upped their price target on General Dynamics from $301.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Citigroup upped their price target on General Dynamics from $283.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. UBS Group upped their price target on General Dynamics from $286.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on General Dynamics from $253.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.80.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

General Dynamics stock traded up $0.81 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $285.27. The stock had a trading volume of 600,305 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,068,298. The company has a 50-day moving average of $278.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $258.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a market cap of $78.27 billion, a PE ratio of 23.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.68. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $202.35 and a fifty-two week high of $296.50.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.39 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.84% and a return on equity of 16.61%. The company’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.58 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a $1.42 dividend. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is 47.25%.

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.