Heritage Investors Management Corp Makes New Investment in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD)

Heritage Investors Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 873 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $238,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GD. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,885 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $760,000 after buying an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $696,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 134.4% in the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,648 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $434,000 after buying an additional 945 shares in the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 59.1% during the fourth quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 2,929 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $772,000 after purchasing an additional 1,088 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Dynamics Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE:GD traded down $0.77 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $316.17. 586,309 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,492,317. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.93, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.46. The firm's 50 day moving average is $286.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $271.39. General Dynamics Corporation has a 52 week low of $239.20 and a 52 week high of $322.50.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.27. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.82% and a net margin of 8.08%. The firm had revenue of $13.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.26 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that General Dynamics Corporation will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. General Dynamics's payout ratio is 41.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 178,821 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.13, for a total transaction of $50,629,589.73. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 769,607 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $217,898,829.91. The trade was a 18.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on General Dynamics from $284.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $314.00 target price on General Dynamics and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on General Dynamics from $283.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $309.17.

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.