GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. Buys New Shares in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. bought a new stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 102,128 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,520,000. General Dynamics comprises about 1.7% of GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PSI Advisors LLC grew its position in General Dynamics by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 240 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Cetera Trust Company N.A purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at about $48,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in General Dynamics by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 21,545 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,595,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its position in General Dynamics by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,560 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,184,000 after acquiring an additional 417 shares during the period. 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 the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 103,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,816,065.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 768,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $218,773,956.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $29,816,065.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE GD opened at $288.14 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $282.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $263.37. General Dynamics Co. has a 52-week low of $202.35 and a 52-week high of $296.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.50, a PEG ratio of 1.79 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.

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

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GD. Citigroup upped their target price on General Dynamics from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Alembic Global Advisors downgraded 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. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on General Dynamics from $325.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. 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 report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on General Dynamics from $291.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $300.53.

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.