Vident Advisory LLC Acquires 20,712 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Vident Advisory LLC grew its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 28.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 92,364 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 20,712 shares during the quarter. Vident Advisory LLC's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $24,337,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GD. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in General Dynamics by 15.3% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $607,000. Hickory Point Bank & Trust bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $692,000. Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $550,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in General Dynamics by 45.4% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 80,565 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $21,228,000 after purchasing an additional 25,144 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on GD. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target 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. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of 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 shares of General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $293.00.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE GD traded down $0.93 on Thursday, reaching $276.77. 1,034,785 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,373,428. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $239.20 and a one year high of $316.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.28 billion, a PE ratio of 20.29, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.49. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $270.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $268.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

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

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. This is a boost from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.61%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total transaction of $7,499,895.82. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

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.