Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 1,061,074 General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,061,074 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $279,582,000. General Dynamics makes up about 1.8% of Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC owned about 0.39% of General Dynamics as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. 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. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Vertical Research downgraded General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $292.88.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $273.21 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $73.33 billion, a PE ratio of 20.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.49. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $266.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $270.70. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $239.20 and a 12-month high of $316.90.

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, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.88 EPS. The business's revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 is an increase from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics's payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

About General Dynamics

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.

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