GAMMA Investing LLC Invests $609,000 in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,297 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $609,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GD. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,830 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,812,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 10,377 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,695,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 6.5% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 687 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $152,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in General Dynamics by 2.3% in the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,846 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $408,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Resonant Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in General Dynamics by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,304 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Dynamics Trading Down 4.8 %

GD traded down $14.12 on Wednesday, reaching $278.60. 2,024,632 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,078,026. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $202.35 and a twelve month high of $296.50. The company’s 50 day moving average is $280.02 and its 200-day moving average is $261.08. The company has a market cap of $76.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.95, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.68.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.64 EPS 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 business had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.58 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.56 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th 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 2.04%. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on GD. Barclays lifted their target price on General Dynamics from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on General Dynamics from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on General Dynamics from $253.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on General Dynamics from $301.00 to $333.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on General Dynamics from $283.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.80.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Mark C. Roualet sold 73,330 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.75, for a total value 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other General Dynamics news, EVP Mark C. Roualet sold 73,330 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 149,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,502,023.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,355 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.31, for a total value of $8,551,750.05. Following 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. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.