Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Purchases 93,600 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 55.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 262,061 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 93,600 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned about 0.10% of General Dynamics worth $76,034,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Modera Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in General Dynamics by 0.4% during the second quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,120 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,356,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in General Dynamics by 46.8% during the 1st quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 113 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 2.5% in the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 1,503 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $425,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 1.1% in the first quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 3,299 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $932,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Copperwynd Financial LLC boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC now owns 1,056 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $345.00 price objective on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $345.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded General Dynamics from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $293.00 to $345.00 in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $315.06.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE GD traded down $2.93 on Wednesday, reaching $299.47. 1,067,205 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,068,211. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.29 billion, a PE ratio of 24.17, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $214.53 and a one year high of $306.51. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $291.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $289.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

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

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 11th. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.33%.

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.