General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Acquired by Wedbush Securities Inc.

Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,615 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $4,378,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. United Bank increased its position in General Dynamics by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 5,776 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,746,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 119,399 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $36,082,000 after buying an additional 10,035 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 86.2% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 35,954 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $10,866,000 after acquiring an additional 16,641 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 2.4% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 285,680 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $86,348,000 after purchasing an additional 6,760 shares during the period. Finally, Stevens Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the third quarter worth $305,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In related news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total transaction of $7,499,895.82. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of GD opened at $249.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $67.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.32, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43. General Dynamics Co. has a 12 month low of $239.87 and a 12 month high of $316.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $258.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $275.74.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on GD. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup dropped their target price on General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $244.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $298.59.

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.