Signaturefd LLC Raises Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 10.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,560 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 417 shares during the quarter. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,184,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 99.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 29,045 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,542,000 after purchasing an additional 14,468 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $16,077,000. Moreno Evelyn V grew its position in General Dynamics by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. Moreno Evelyn V now owns 27,310 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,035,000 after acquiring an additional 3,991 shares during the last quarter. Clough Capital Partners L P purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,868,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in General Dynamics by 57.7% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 326,121 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $72,063,000 after purchasing an additional 119,264 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Dynamics news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,355 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.31, for a total transaction of $8,551,750.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 773,977 shares in the company, valued at $204,569,860.87. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Mark C. Roualet sold 73,330 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 149,205 shares in the company, valued at $39,502,023.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,355 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.31, for a total transaction of $8,551,750.05. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $288.62 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $279.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $260.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. General Dynamics Co. has a 12 month low of $202.35 and a 12 month high of $296.50.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.68 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.39 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.84% and a return on equity of 16.61%. The company’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.58 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.57 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 $1.42 dividend. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 47.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on GD. UBS Group lifted their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. 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. Alembic Global Advisors cut General Dynamics from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $296.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on General Dynamics from $253.00 to $284.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.80.

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.