General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Bought by Essex Financial Services Inc.

Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,781 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $3,059,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Rational Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other news, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 103,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,816,065.95. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total transaction of $14,182,325.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 768,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $218,773,956.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total transaction of $3,914,215.17. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 103,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,816,065.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of GD traded down $0.64 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $286.45. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 390,580 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,111,444. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $202.35 and a one year high of $296.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.68. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $281.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $262.72.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $10.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.26 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 16.48%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.64 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th will be paid a $1.42 dividend. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 46.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on GD. Barclays raised their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $286.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on General Dynamics from $253.00 to $284.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Alembic Global Advisors lowered shares of General Dynamics from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $296.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Argus raised their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $297.06.

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.