Commerce Bank Buys 3,154 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Commerce Bank lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 63,178 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,154 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $16,647,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total transaction of $7,499,895.82. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

GD stock traded up $3.42 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $269.15. 731,715 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,372,532. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $263.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $272.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $239.20 and a 1-year high of $316.90. The company has a market cap of $72.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.72, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.43 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $12.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.92 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. On average, analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GD has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on General Dynamics from $268.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $300.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. TD Securities upped their price target on General Dynamics from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $293.83.

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.