Principle Wealth Partners LLC Increases Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Principle Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,294 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $7,347,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,830 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,812,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 10,377 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,695,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 687 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $152,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,846 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Resonant Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,304 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on General Dynamics from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com raised General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. 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. UBS Group upped their price objective on General Dynamics from $286.00 to $296.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, 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 report on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $293.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Dynamics news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,355 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.31, for a total value of $8,551,750.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 773,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $204,569,860.87. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GD traded down $0.49 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $284.41. The company had a trading volume of 1,244,205 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,231,567. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $78.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.20, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.68. General Dynamics Co. has a 12-month low of $202.35 and a 12-month high of $296.50. The company has a fifty day moving average of $280.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $261.88.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.89 by ($0.01). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 7.85%. The company had revenue of $10.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be paid a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.