Savant Capital LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Savant Capital LLC lifted its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,438 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,153,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 0.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,423,961 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,955,023,000 after buying an additional 133,061 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,360,526 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,615,185,000 after acquiring an additional 1,755,276 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 4,017,057 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $887,649,000 after purchasing an additional 17,061 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 13.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,293,269 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $506,744,000 after purchasing an additional 275,947 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 4.5% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,258,362 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $499,030,000 after purchasing an additional 97,789 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Dynamics Price Performance

GD opened at $288.14 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $202.35 and a 1 year high of $296.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.44. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $282.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $263.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.05 billion, a PE ratio of 23.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.67.

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

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 46.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Dynamics news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 768,977 shares in the company, valued at $218,773,956.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total transaction of $3,914,215.17. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 103,345 shares in the company, valued at $29,816,065.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 $218,773,956.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on GD shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on General Dynamics from $325.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $291.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. UBS Group increased their target price on General Dynamics from $286.00 to $296.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded General Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $305.00 to $335.00 in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $280.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $297.06.

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.