Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Has $1.53 Million Stock Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 44.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,828 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 1,800 shares during the period. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,534,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GD. World Investment Advisors grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 14,602 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,847,000 after buying an additional 1,721 shares during the last quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,238 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,099,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. OneAscent Financial Services LLC increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 2,471 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $651,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC raised its position in General Dynamics by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 27,034 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $7,123,000 after purchasing an additional 2,653 shares during the period. Finally, RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $220,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $283.00 price target (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Barclays decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Vertical Research cut General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $297.12.

Insider Activity

In other General Dynamics news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD traded up $17.70 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $272.10. 2,676,083 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,341,082. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37. The stock's fifty day moving average is $258.79 and its 200 day moving average is $274.17. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $239.20 and a 1-year high of $316.90. The stock has a market cap of $73.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. Equities research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is an increase from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.99%.

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.