Exeter Financial LLC Increases Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Exeter Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 1.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,803 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the quarter. General Dynamics accounts for 2.2% of Exeter Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Exeter Financial LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $4,853,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital & Planning LLC grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 1,538 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,885 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $760,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 776 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $204,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,388 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $629,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 90.4% in the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,483 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,743,000 after purchasing an additional 3,078 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:GD opened at $275.27 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a 52-week low of $239.20 and a 52-week high of $316.90. The business has a fifty day moving average of $272.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $267.52. The stock has a market cap of $73.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.18, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.43 by $0.23. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. The business had revenue of $12.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.88 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th were paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Dynamics news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total transaction of $7,499,895.82. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at $12,297,195.12. This represents a 37.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Susquehanna raised their price objective on General Dynamics from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, TD Securities lifted their price target on General Dynamics from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $293.00.

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.