General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Sold by GTS Securities LLC

GTS Securities LLC reduced its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 96.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,412 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 33,739 shares during the quarter. GTS Securities LLC's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $372,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,297,195.12. This represents a 37.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on GD shares. William Blair lowered shares of General Dynamics from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $268.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. TD Securities lifted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $300.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $261.00 to $236.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $293.00.

General Dynamics Price Performance

GD stock traded up $3.13 during trading on Friday, reaching $278.33. 1,657,534 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,380,388. The company has a market cap of $74.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.41, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.49. General Dynamics Co. has a 52-week low of $239.20 and a 52-week high of $316.90. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $272.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $267.29. 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 (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.43 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $12.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.92 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. The firm's revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.88 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th were issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 11th. This is an increase from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is 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.