World Investment Advisors Buys 1,721 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

World Investment Advisors raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 13.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,602 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,721 shares during the quarter. World Investment Advisors' holdings in General Dynamics were worth $3,847,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

GD traded up $17.70 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $272.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,676,083 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,341,082. General Dynamics Co. has a 12 month low of $239.20 and a 12 month high of $316.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $258.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $274.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43.

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General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share (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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This is an increase from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.99%.

Insider Activity

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the firm's 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 of the company's stock, valued at $12,297,195.12. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on GD shares. Susquehanna raised their target price on General Dynamics from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and issued a $300.00 target price (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $261.00 to $236.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $297.12.

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.