Sierra Summit Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Sierra Summit Advisors LLC raised its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 34.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,672 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,208 shares during the quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,231,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $197,238,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,780,078 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $6,265,813,000 after purchasing an additional 706,317 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in General Dynamics by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,674,998,000 after purchasing an additional 638,342 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 43.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 942,485 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $284,818,000 after purchasing an additional 283,972 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 125.3% in the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 351,429 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $92,598,000 after buying an additional 195,476 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GD traded up $4.84 on Friday, reaching $276.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,568,464 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,349,116. General Dynamics Co. has a 52-week low of $239.20 and a 52-week high of $316.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.28, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43. The stock's 50-day moving average is $259.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $273.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

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 given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. This is a positive change from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was 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 directly owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at $12,297,195.12. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 11,175 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on GD shares. Barclays cut their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. William Blair lowered shares of General Dynamics from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Vertical Research lowered General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on General Dynamics from $335.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $296.82.

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.