Argus Investors Counsel Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. trimmed its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 30.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,251 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the period. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $614,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital & Planning LLC boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 1,538 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $405,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,885 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $760,000 after acquiring an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in General Dynamics by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,689 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,553,000 after acquiring an additional 1,283 shares during the period. Certuity LLC raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 952 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $251,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 4,165 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,097,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on GD shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $300.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on General Dynamics from $268.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. TD Securities lifted their price target on General Dynamics from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Argus set a $295.00 price objective on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $293.00.

General Dynamics Stock Up 1.4%

NYSE:GD opened at $279.80 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a 52-week low of $239.20 and a 52-week high of $316.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $274.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $266.63. 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 company has a market cap of $75.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.46.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued 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 net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. The business had revenue of $12.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.92 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.88 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 41.61%.

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.