General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Purchased by AXQ Capital LP

AXQ Capital LP lifted its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 81.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,857 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 1,284 shares during the quarter. AXQ Capital LP's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $753,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. United Bank increased its position in General Dynamics by 4.0% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 5,776 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,746,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth about $3,039,000. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 13,014 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,933,000 after buying an additional 2,452 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 441,544 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $133,435,000 after buying an additional 19,811 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in General Dynamics by 35.8% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 32,674 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $9,874,000 after acquiring an additional 8,612 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of General Dynamics stock traded up $0.02 during trading on Thursday, hitting $269.60. 802,059 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,249,529. General Dynamics Co. has a 52-week low of $239.87 and a 52-week high of $316.90. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $258.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $277.22. The firm has a market cap of $72.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

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

General Dynamics announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. This is a boost from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics's payout ratio is currently 43.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GD shares. Vertical Research lowered General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $283.00 target price (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $297.71.

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.