Virtus ETF Advisers LLC Makes New Investment in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Virtus ETF Advisers LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,790 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $999,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GD. Purus Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Purus Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,660 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $701,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Austin Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Austin Wealth Management LLC now owns 826 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 35.8% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 163 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Stokes Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 10,279 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,708,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

General Dynamics stock traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $271.95. 1,002,008 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,360,873. The firm has a market cap of $72.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.94, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $265.28 and a 200 day moving average of $271.58. General Dynamics Co. has a 12 month low of $239.20 and a 12 month high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.43 by $0.23. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. The firm had revenue of $12.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.88 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. This is a boost 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 is currently 41.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. BTIG Research lowered General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $261.00 to $236.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on 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, Citigroup decreased their target price on General Dynamics from $335.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $293.83.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company 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.