Empowered Funds LLC Boosts Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 106.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,728 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,554 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $3,596,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Legend Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in General Dynamics by 46.8% in the 1st quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 113 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, Director Leon Rudy F. De sold 2,570 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.00, for a total value of $740,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,518 shares in the company, valued at $1,589,184. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 approximately $29,816,065.95. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Leon Rudy F. De sold 2,570 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.00, for a total transaction of $740,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,589,184. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 118,486 shares of company stock worth $34,391,642. 1.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GD has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on General Dynamics from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays lifted their target price on General Dynamics from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised General Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $305.00 to $335.00 in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $305.56.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.1 %

GD stock traded down $0.26 during trading on Friday, hitting $283.89. 1,072,025 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 967,955. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $293.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $279.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.16, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.60. General Dynamics Co. has a 52-week low of $212.58 and a 52-week high of $302.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its 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 business had revenue of $10.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.64 EPS. General Dynamics’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.55 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.33%.

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.