Bill Few Associates Inc. Decreases Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Bill Few Associates Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,156 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 46 shares during the quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $349,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on GD shares. TD Cowen raised shares of General Dynamics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $331.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of General Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $293.00 to $345.00 in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $320.00 to $314.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of General Dynamics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $334.00 to $317.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, General Dynamics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $319.06.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.05, for a total transaction of $406,626.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,592 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,515.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of GD opened at $300.29 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.39 billion, a PE ratio of 24.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.80. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $232.29 and a 1-year high of $309.97. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $298.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $293.97.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 7.89% and a return on equity of 16.74%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.70 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.38 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 11th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 11th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.33%.

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.