Ethic Inc. Buys 2,034 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Ethic Inc. grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 40.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,088 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 2,034 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,868,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Purus Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Purus Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,660 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $701,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Austin Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Austin Wealth Management LLC now owns 826 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $220,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 35.8% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 163 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Stokes Family Office LLC lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 10,279 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,708,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

NYSE GD traded up $8.02 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $278.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,396,750 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,372,194. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $239.20 and a 1 year high of $316.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market capitalization of $74.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.43, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.49. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $269.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $269.35.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.43 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $12.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.92 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.88 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th were issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. This is a boost from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics's payout ratio is 41.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 sale, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays lowered 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. 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 report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $335.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $293.00.

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.