Unique Wealth Strategies LLC Acquires New Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,593 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $933,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in General Dynamics by 0.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,423,961 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,955,023,000 after acquiring an additional 133,061 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $3,615,185,000 after buying an additional 1,755,276 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 17,061 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 275,947 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,258,362 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $499,030,000 after acquiring an additional 97,789 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

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 shares were sold at an average price of $264.31, for a total transaction of $8,551,750.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 773,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,569,860.87. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

General Dynamics Price Performance

NYSE GD traded down $0.49 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $284.41. 1,244,205 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,231,567. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $280.86 and a 200-day moving average of $261.71. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $202.35 and a one year high of $296.50. The stock has a market cap of $78.03 billion, a PE ratio of 23.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $10.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.26 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 7.85%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.64 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 46.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on GD shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on General Dynamics from $286.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Alembic Global Advisors cut shares of General Dynamics from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $296.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $325.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target 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, Citigroup lifted their price objective on General Dynamics from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, General Dynamics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $285.63.

General Dynamics Company 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.