GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Raises Position in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD)

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 4.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,243 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 1,016 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $6,336,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,780,078 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $6,265,813,000 after buying an additional 706,317 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,734,148 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,774,381,000 after purchasing an additional 463,497 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,688,672 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,496,939,000 after purchasing an additional 131,268 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 4,212,422 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,109,931,000 after purchasing an additional 33,962 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,935,046 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $773,355,000 after purchasing an additional 145,978 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Dynamics news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 7,639 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.44, for a total value of $2,142,281.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 769,607 shares of the company's stock, valued at $215,828,587.08. This trade represents a 0.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Securities increased their price target on General Dynamics from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group increased their price target on General Dynamics from $268.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $300.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $293.00.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD stock opened at $281.30 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.34. General Dynamics Corporation has a one year low of $239.20 and a one year high of $316.90. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $275.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $266.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.51, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.46.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.43 by $0.23. General Dynamics had a net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 17.82%. The business had revenue of $12.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.88 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Corporation will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.61%.

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.

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