General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Acquired by Advisors Asset Management Inc.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 30,895 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,227 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $8,141,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GD. Kennondale Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,128,000. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC now owns 16,050 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $4,229,000 after purchasing an additional 1,402 shares in the last quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 39.2% during the 4th quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,128 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,669,000 after purchasing an additional 2,854 shares during the last quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC now owns 16,227 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $4,276,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 56,964 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $15,009,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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General Dynamics Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE:GD traded down $2.40 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $263.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,313,608 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,250,520. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $258.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $277.79. 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 company has a market capitalization of $71.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. General Dynamics Co. has a 12 month low of $239.87 and a 12 month high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This is a positive change from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics's payout ratio is 43.99%.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at $12,297,195.12. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Susquehanna dropped their price target on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. William Blair downgraded General Dynamics from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Baird R W cut shares of General Dynamics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, BTIG Research downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $297.71.

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.