20,145 Shares in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Bought by Eisler Capital Management Ltd.

Eisler Capital Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 20,145 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $5,256,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 15.3% during the fourth 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. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $607,000. Hickory Point Bank & Trust acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $692,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in General Dynamics by 69.1% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 261,992 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $69,032,000 after buying an additional 107,095 shares during the period. Finally, Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $550,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on GD. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Baird R W downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. William Blair downgraded shares of General Dynamics from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, TD Securities upped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $293.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company's stock, valued at $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

General Dynamics Trading Up 1.8%

NYSE:GD traded up $4.89 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $276.45. 1,157,890 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,369,442. The firm has a market cap of $74.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.27, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.49. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $239.20 and a 52-week high of $316.90. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $268.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $269.50.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $12.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.92 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.88 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th were given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 11th. This is an increase from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.