Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Purchases 5,728 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 2.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 216,464 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,728 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned approximately 0.08% of General Dynamics worth $61,149,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the first quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 46.8% during the first quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 113 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 768,977 shares in the company, valued at $218,773,956.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 768,977 shares in the company, valued at $218,773,956.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kimberly A. Kuryea sold 13,344 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.16, for a total value of $3,978,647.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 79,255 shares in the company, valued at $23,630,670.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 118,486 shares of company stock valued at $34,391,642. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE:GD traded down $1.77 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $281.68. The stock had a trading volume of 1,039,502 shares, compared to its average volume of 936,272. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.44. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $211.94 and a twelve month high of $302.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.98, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $294.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $278.84.

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

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on GD shares. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $345.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com downgraded General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $280.00 to $298.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $253.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $305.56.

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.