General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Purchased by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 4.8% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 33,639 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,530 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $9,503,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the first quarter worth $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the first quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 46.8% during the first quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 113 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BTIG Research began coverage on General Dynamics in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $345.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on General Dynamics from $291.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com downgraded General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on General Dynamics from $325.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Argus lifted their target price on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $305.56.

General Dynamics Stock Down 1.2 %

NYSE GD traded down $3.38 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $281.50. 427,565 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,051,854. The company has a 50 day moving average of $294.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $278.64. 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 52-week low of $211.94 and a 52-week high of $302.75. The firm has a market cap of $77.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.98, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.60.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.89 by ($0.01). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 7.85%. The company had revenue of $10.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.64 EPS. General Dynamics’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.56 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.33%.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other news, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total transaction of $3,914,215.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 103,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,816,065.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total transaction of $3,914,215.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 103,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,816,065.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kimberly A. Kuryea sold 13,344 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.16, for a total value of $3,978,647.04. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 79,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,630,670.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 118,486 shares of company stock valued at $34,391,642. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.