Fifth Third Bancorp Buys 1,501 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 0.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 232,778 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,501 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp owned about 0.09% of General Dynamics worth $63,451,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of GD. Rialto Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 213.8% during the first quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 91 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Copia Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GD traded up $3.97 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $279.80. 752,762 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,380,886. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $239.20 and a 52 week high of $316.90. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $273.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $266.64.

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

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Securities upped their price objective on General Dynamics from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on General Dynamics from $335.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Argus set a $295.00 price objective on General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group upped their price objective on General Dynamics from $268.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, BTIG Research downgraded General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $293.00.

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.