Arvest Investments Inc. Invests $4.50 Million in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Arvest Investments Inc. acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 17,319 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $4,497,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,830 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,812,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 6.5% in the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 687 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $152,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 2.3% in the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,846 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $408,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 1.6% in the third quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT now owns 2,706 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $598,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 2.2% in the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,013 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $445,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. 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 32,355 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.31, for a total value of $8,551,750.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 773,977 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $204,569,860.87. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Mark C. Roualet sold 73,330 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.75, for a total transaction of $19,414,117.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 149,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $39,502,023.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,355 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.31, for a total transaction of $8,551,750.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 773,977 shares of the company's stock, valued at $204,569,860.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on GD shares. Alembic Global Advisors lowered shares of General Dynamics from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $296.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 29th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $283.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $286.00 to $296.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $291.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $278.08.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of GD traded up $1.56 on Thursday, reaching $293.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,390,988 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,087,097. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $202.35 and a twelve month high of $294.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.46 billion, a PE ratio of 24.28, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.68. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $273.85 and a 200-day moving average of $254.13.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.68 by ($0.04). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.61% and a net margin of 7.84%. The business had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.58 EPS. The company's revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.57 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be given a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. This is an increase from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.93%.

General Dynamics Company 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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