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

Ancora Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 139,932 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,234 shares during the period. General Dynamics makes up 0.8% of Ancora Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Ancora Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.05% of General Dynamics worth $36,871,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $197,238,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,780,078 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $6,265,813,000 after acquiring an additional 706,317 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in General Dynamics by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,734,148 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,774,381,000 after acquiring an additional 463,497 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 43.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 942,485 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $284,818,000 after acquiring an additional 283,972 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 24.3% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,290,344 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $339,856,000 after purchasing an additional 252,107 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on GD. TD Securities increased their price target on General Dynamics from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. BTIG Research downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $283.00 price target (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $292.88.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE:GD traded down $1.03 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $269.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 861,637 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,363,679. The business's fifty day moving average is $267.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $270.45. The stock has a market cap of $72.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.76, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.49. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $239.20 and a 1 year high of $316.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $12.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.88 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This is an increase from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is 41.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Dynamics news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at $12,297,195.12. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.