United Asset Strategies Inc. Raises Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

United Asset Strategies Inc. boosted its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 22.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,218 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 584 shares during the quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $836,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GD. Certified Advisory Corp purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new position in General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 411.5% during the 3rd quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 133 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Live Oak Investment Partners purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Tyler Stone Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the second quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GD. Alembic Global Advisors lowered General Dynamics from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $296.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. UBS Group increased their price objective 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. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $301.00 to $333.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, General Dynamics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.80.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE GD opened at $285.21 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $278.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $258.67. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $202.35 and a fifty-two week high of $296.50. The company has a market cap of $78.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.44.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.68 by ($0.04). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.84% and a return on equity of 16.61%. The firm had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.58 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.57 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 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 47.25%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Mark C. Roualet sold 73,330 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.75, for a total transaction of $19,414,117.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 149,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,502,023.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Mark C. Roualet sold 73,330 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.75, for a total transaction of $19,414,117.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 149,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,502,023.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,355 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.31, for a total value of $8,551,750.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 773,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $204,569,860.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Company 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.