Van ECK Associates Corp Has $8.34 Million Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 32,109 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $8,337,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at $220,000. Intrust Bank NA boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 25,069 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,510,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. Naviter Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 2,509 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $652,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated boosted its position in General Dynamics by 533.3% during the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 1,197 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Trading Up 0.3 %

GD stock opened at $288.14 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $202.35 and a one year high of $296.50. The stock has a market cap of $79.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $282.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $263.05. 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 (NYSE:GD) last announced its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $10.73 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.64 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate 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 paid a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. 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

In other news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total value of $14,182,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 768,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $218,773,956.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $29,816,065.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on GD shares. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $325.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on General Dynamics from $291.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. UBS Group upped their target price on General Dynamics from $286.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors downgraded General Dynamics from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $296.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $297.06.

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.