Waverly Advisors LLC Increases Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Waverly Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 296.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,987 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 12,702 shares during the period. Waverly Advisors LLC's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $4,476,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $300.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on General Dynamics from $261.00 to $236.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Susquehanna increased 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. William Blair cut General Dynamics from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, TD Securities increased their target price on General Dynamics from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $293.00.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of General Dynamics stock traded up $4.16 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $278.91. 300,044 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,600,124. General Dynamics Co. has a 12-month low of $239.20 and a 12-month high of $316.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.45, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $271.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $267.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last announced 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.92 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.88 EPS. The business's revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Friday, April 11th. This is a positive change from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.61%.

About General Dynamics

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.