World Investment Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 12,881 General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 12,881 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $3,892,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 241.7% in the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 120.0% in the 2nd quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of General Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $283.00 to $245.00 in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $300.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on General Dynamics from $322.00 to $295.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Wolfe Research cut General Dynamics from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on General Dynamics from $331.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $317.38.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of General Dynamics stock traded up $0.07 on Friday, reaching $263.11. 1,673,421 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,137,823. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.35 billion, a PE ratio of 20.04, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a 50 day moving average of $291.83 and a 200 day moving average of $293.73. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $247.36 and a 52 week high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.48 by ($0.13). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 7.90%. The firm had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.04 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.26%.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 3,592 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,106,515.60. This trade represents a 26.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company's stock.

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.