Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC Raises Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 18.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,370 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $356,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $728,284,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in General Dynamics by 12.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,360,526 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,615,185,000 after acquiring an additional 1,755,276 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in General Dynamics by 10,763.2% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 923,593 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $239,829,000 after acquiring an additional 915,091 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in General Dynamics by 13.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,293,269 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $506,744,000 after acquiring an additional 275,947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners increased its position in General Dynamics by 12.7% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,763,878 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $392,110,000 after acquiring an additional 198,185 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Alembic Global Advisors cut shares of General Dynamics from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $296.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $301.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Argus upped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $305.00 to $335.00 in a report on Monday, April 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $300.63.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total value of $3,914,215.17. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 103,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,816,065.95. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CFO Kimberly A. Kuryea sold 13,344 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.16, for a total value of $3,978,647.04. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 79,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,630,670.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total transaction of $3,914,215.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 103,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,816,065.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 118,486 shares of company stock worth $34,391,642 over the last 90 days. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of GD stock traded down $1.31 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $296.70. 191,528 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,077,661. The stock has a market cap of $81.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $288.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $268.64. General Dynamics Co. has a 52-week low of $202.35 and a 52-week high of $301.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.89 by ($0.01). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 16.48%. The company had revenue of $10.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.64 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.55 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th were issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is 46.33%.

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.