Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Boosts Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 210,736 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 6,767 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned about 0.08% of General Dynamics worth $54,723,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 188.3% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 40,830 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $10,602,000 after acquiring an additional 26,668 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 99.3% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 29,045 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $7,542,000 after purchasing an additional 14,468 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth about $1,056,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec bought a new position in General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth about $16,077,000. Finally, Clough Capital Partners L P purchased a new position in General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,868,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics Trading Up 0.2 %

GD stock traded up $0.64 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $294.17. The company had a trading volume of 655,275 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,100,901. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.87. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $202.35 and a 52 week high of $297.88. The business has a 50 day moving average of $284.92 and a 200 day moving average of $266.09. The company has a market cap of $80.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.99, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.67.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.89 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $10.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.26 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 16.48%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.64 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th were given a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 11th. This is a positive change from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In related news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total transaction of $14,182,325.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 768,977 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $218,773,956.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, VP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 6,016 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.58, for a total value of $1,784,225.28. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 76,221 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,605,624.18. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total transaction of $14,182,325.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 768,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $218,773,956.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 72,003 shares of company stock worth $20,620,925. 1.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Argus raised their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $253.00 to $284.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com cut shares of General Dynamics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on General Dynamics from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised General Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $305.00 to $335.00 in a report on Monday, April 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $300.53.

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.