Bernard Wealth Management Corp. Takes $1.15 Million Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 4,371 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $1,152,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 43.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 942,485 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $284,818,000 after purchasing an additional 283,972 shares in the last quarter. Capital & Planning LLC boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 1,538 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $405,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,885 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $760,000 after acquiring an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 776 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $204,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,924 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,034,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the company. Susquehanna increased their target price on General Dynamics from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Argus set a $295.00 price objective on General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. TD Securities raised 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. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $300.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $293.00.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of GD traded up $1.63 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $275.27. 992,225 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,376,670. General Dynamics Co. has a 52-week low of $239.20 and a 52-week high of $316.90. 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 company has a market cap of $73.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.49. The company's 50-day moving average price is $271.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $267.79.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business 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, analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th were issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. This is a boost from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is 41.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. This represents a 37.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.