Contravisory Investment Management Inc. Purchases New Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,980 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $540,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital & Planning LLC boosted its position in General Dynamics by 9.8% during 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 during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position 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 in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its position in General Dynamics by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 2,095 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $548,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 1,231 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

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. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

GD stock traded down $0.78 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $274.25. 870,999 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,379,078. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $272.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $266.82. The company has a market cap of $73.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.49. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $239.20 and a one year 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.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.66 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $12.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.88 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on GD. TD Securities lifted their target price on General Dynamics from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Argus set a $295.00 price target on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $261.00 to $236.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased 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 research report on Thursday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.