Wealthfront Advisers LLC Purchases 8,450 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 32.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,560 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,450 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $9,106,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,307,612,000 after acquiring an additional 943,247 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $197,238,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,674,998,000 after buying an additional 638,342 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 117.0% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 858,600 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $259,469,000 after buying an additional 463,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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General Dynamics Stock Up 0.3 %

General Dynamics stock traded up $0.86 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $260.87. 1,044,469 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,236,051. General Dynamics Co. has a 52-week low of $239.87 and a 52-week high of $316.90. The business's 50-day moving average price is $257.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $279.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. On average, research analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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 paid a $1.50 dividend. This is a boost from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics's payout ratio is currently 43.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, William Blair downgraded shares of General Dynamics from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $297.71.

About General Dynamics

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.