Savvy Advisors Inc. Takes $300,000 Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Savvy Advisors Inc. bought a new position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,138 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $300,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:GD traded down $0.93 on Friday, reaching $275.70. The company had a trading volume of 1,721,990 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,361,597. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $261.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $272.70. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $239.20 and a twelve month high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. On average, equities analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This is an increase from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In related news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup reduced their target price on General Dynamics from $335.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on General Dynamics from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Vertical Research cut General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, William Blair downgraded shares of General Dynamics from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $294.47.

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.