Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Has $1.17 Million Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lowered its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 5.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,866 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 225 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,168,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GD. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in General Dynamics by 241.7% in the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $301.80 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $300.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $294.95. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $237.35 and a fifty-two week high of $313.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $82.99 billion, a PE ratio of 24.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.61.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by ($0.13). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 7.89%. The firm had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.65 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.04 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.27 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 11th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 46.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $333.00 to $352.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on General Dynamics from $320.00 to $314.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays upped their price target on General Dynamics from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup raised their price objective on General Dynamics from $331.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $324.19.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.05, for a total value of $406,626.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,106,515.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.52% of the stock is owned by 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.