1620 Investment Advisors Inc. Decreases Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

1620 Investment Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 12.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,123 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 160 shares during the period. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $292,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GD. Eudaimonia Partners LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at about $240,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 188.3% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 40,830 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $10,602,000 after acquiring an additional 26,668 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 99.3% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 29,045 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $7,542,000 after acquiring an additional 14,468 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,056,000. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $16,077,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, VP William A. Moss sold 21,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.85, for a total transaction of $6,206,592.50. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 16,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,901,586.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other General Dynamics news, VP William A. Moss sold 21,050 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.85, for a total value of $6,206,592.50. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 16,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,901,586.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The stock was 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 directly owns 103,345 shares in the company, valued at $29,816,065.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 118,486 shares of company stock valued at $34,391,642. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on GD. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of General Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $305.00 to $335.00 in a research note on Monday, April 29th. UBS Group boosted their target price on General Dynamics from $286.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on General Dynamics from $301.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on General Dynamics from $280.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on General Dynamics from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $300.53.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of General Dynamics stock traded up $0.95 on Wednesday, hitting $298.01. 882,678 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,086,650. The stock has a market cap of $81.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.28, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $287.73 and its 200 day moving average is $268.44. General Dynamics Co. has a 52-week low of $202.35 and a 52-week high of $301.48.

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

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th were given a dividend of $1.42 per share. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.33%.

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.