Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Acquires 6,930 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 141.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 11,825 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 6,930 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $3,116,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of GD. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 43.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 942,485 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $284,818,000 after acquiring an additional 283,972 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 17.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 297,577 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $89,928,000 after acquiring an additional 44,387 shares during the period. Capital Market Strategies LLC increased its position in General Dynamics by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital Market Strategies LLC now owns 1,492 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $393,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in General Dynamics by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 2,221 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $585,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norway Savings Bank boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Norway Savings Bank now owns 3,983 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,049,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other General Dynamics news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were 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 directly owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at $12,297,195.12. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE GD traded up $3.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $272.53. The company had a trading volume of 1,339,475 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,367,598. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $239.20 and a one year high of $316.90. The company has a market capitalization of $73.15 billion, a PE ratio of 19.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $268.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $270.44.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.66 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $12.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.88 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This is a positive change from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $283.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. TD Securities increased their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of 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. Finally, BTIG Research lowered General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.