Willis Investment Counsel Has $12.87 Million Stock Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Willis Investment Counsel trimmed its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 21.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 42,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 11,303 shares during the quarter. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $12,874,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their target price on General Dynamics from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded General Dynamics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $334.00 to $317.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup upped their price objective on General Dynamics from $331.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price objective on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $319.06.

General Dynamics Price Performance

General Dynamics stock opened at $299.44 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $297.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $293.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.42, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.33. General Dynamics Co. has a 52-week low of $232.29 and a 52-week high of $309.97.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.30 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $11.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.46 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 7.89%. General Dynamics’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.70 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.38 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.33%.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.05, for a total transaction of $406,626.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,106,515.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.