Narwhal Capital Management Buys 2,593 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Narwhal Capital Management increased its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 8.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,186 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,593 shares during the quarter. General Dynamics accounts for about 1.0% of Narwhal Capital Management's holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Narwhal Capital Management's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $10,209,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $728,284,000. Verity & Verity LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the 1st quarter worth about $179,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 3,645.4% during the 4th quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 558,586 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $145,048,000 after acquiring an additional 543,672 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 879.9% in the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 340,359 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $96,148,000 after acquiring an additional 305,624 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at $43,733,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on GD. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $330.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $320.00 target price on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of General Dynamics from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $293.00 to $345.00 in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on General Dynamics from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $315.06.

General Dynamics Stock Down 1.5 %

NYSE GD traded down $4.51 during trading on Friday, reaching $292.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,362,362 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,062,699. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.33 billion, a PE ratio of 23.88, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $214.53 and a 1-year high of $302.75. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $290.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $288.98.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.30 by ($0.04). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 7.89%. The business had revenue of $11.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.70 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 11th will be issued a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 11th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.33%.

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.