General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Purchased by Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 0.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 232,778 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,501 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp owned 0.09% of General Dynamics worth $63,451,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Capital & Planning LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 1,538 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $760,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,689 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,553,000 after purchasing an additional 1,283 shares during the period. Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI now owns 25,429 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $6,700,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the period. Finally, Portfolio Design Labs LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 19.8% in the fourth quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC now owns 6,443 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,698,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

General Dynamics Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of GD traded up $3.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $282.95. 1,649,124 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,387,727. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $239.20 and a 1 year high of $316.90. The firm's fifty day moving average is $274.62 and its 200-day moving average is $266.52. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $75.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.46.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. The firm had revenue of $12.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.88 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. General Dynamics's payout ratio is 41.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on GD shares. William Blair lowered General Dynamics from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $261.00 to $236.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Susquehanna upped their target price on General Dynamics from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $335.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Argus set a $295.00 target price on General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. One equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.