Ascent Group LLC Purchases 1,255 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Ascent Group LLC increased its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 16.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,008 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,255 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $2,374,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $238,000. Perennial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,416,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $58,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in General Dynamics by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 91,766 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $24,179,000 after purchasing an additional 824 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP increased its stake in General Dynamics by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 2,177 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $574,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GD traded down $5.63 on Wednesday, reaching $273.60. 1,006,125 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,375,788. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.43 billion, a PE ratio of 20.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.49. The company's 50 day moving average is $271.63 and its 200-day moving average is $267.75. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $239.20 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.43 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $12.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.92 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. General Dynamics's revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.88 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. 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 presently 41.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on GD. Susquehanna lifted their price target 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. TD Cowen cut their target price on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays cut their price target on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, William Blair lowered General Dynamics from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $293.00.

Insider Activity

In other General Dynamics news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total transaction of $7,499,895.82. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

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.