General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Bought by Tower Research Capital LLC TRC

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 119.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,381 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 7,821 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $3,789,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of GD. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $213,000. Trajan Wealth LLC boosted its position in General Dynamics by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC now owns 29,291 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $7,718,000 after purchasing an additional 2,156 shares during the last quarter. Sharpepoint LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $232,000. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its position in General Dynamics by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 72,216 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $19,028,000 after purchasing an additional 9,234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 68,566 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $18,066,000 after buying an additional 1,244 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:GD traded up $0.59 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $272.30. The stock had a trading volume of 947,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,746,232. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43. The firm's 50 day moving average is $263.62 and its 200-day moving average is $272.30. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $239.20 and a 1 year high of $316.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.43 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $12.22 billion for 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%. Research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This is a positive change from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. William Blair lowered General Dynamics from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on General Dynamics from $335.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Vertical Research downgraded General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $293.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,297,195.12. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.