SG Americas Securities LLC Acquires 207,544 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 1,488.8% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 221,484 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 207,544 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $60,372,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rialto Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 213.8% in the first quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 91 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Copia Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GD has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on General Dynamics from $261.00 to $236.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. BTIG Research downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. TD Securities upped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Argus set a $295.00 price target on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $335.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $293.00.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $277.35 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $272.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $266.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.33, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.46. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $239.20 and a 52 week high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.88 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is 41.61%.

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.