Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. Increases Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 4.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,199 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. General Dynamics comprises 1.2% of Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $2,599,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of GD. Fulton Bank N.A. raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 1.1% in the first quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 3,299 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $932,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC now owns 1,056 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC now owns 1,727 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 287 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $2,812,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other news, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total value of $3,914,215.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 103,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,816,065.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total transaction of $14,182,325.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 768,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $218,773,956.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total value of $3,914,215.17. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 103,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,816,065.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 118,486 shares of company stock valued at $34,391,642 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GD. Argus boosted their price target on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Citigroup boosted their price target on General Dynamics from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on General Dynamics from $301.00 to $333.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on General Dynamics from $253.00 to $284.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, BTIG Research initiated coverage on General Dynamics in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $345.00 price objective for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $303.24.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

GD traded down $2.36 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $290.14. The company had a trading volume of 2,259,932 shares, compared to its average volume of 860,268. The company has a market cap of $79.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The business has a 50-day moving average of $294.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $277.90. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $210.65 and a 1 year high of $302.75.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $10.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.26 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 7.85%. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.64 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.33%.

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.