Strive Asset Management LLC Makes New Investment in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,286 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $602,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 706,317 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,734,148 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,774,381,000 after buying an additional 463,497 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,688,672 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,496,939,000 after buying an additional 131,268 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 4,212,422 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,109,931,000 after acquiring an additional 33,962 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in General Dynamics by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,935,046 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $773,355,000 after acquiring an additional 145,978 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In related news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 45,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,297,195.12. This represents a 37.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of GD traded down $2.45 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $274.58. The company had a trading volume of 250,234 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,607,953. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $239.20 and a 1 year high of $316.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $271.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $268.60.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $11.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.88 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side 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 was paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th were issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 41.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BTIG Research lowered General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Argus set a $295.00 price target on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average 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.