Mufg Securities Americas Inc. Makes New Investment in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. acquired a new position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,810 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,004,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Purus Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Purus Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,660 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $701,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Austin Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Austin Wealth Management LLC now owns 826 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $220,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 35.8% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 163 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stokes Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 10,279 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,708,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on GD shares. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. BTIG Research lowered General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on General Dynamics from $268.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Argus set a $295.00 target price on General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $293.00.

General Dynamics Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE:GD opened at $270.66 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $269.24 and its 200-day moving average is $269.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $239.20 and a 52 week high of $316.90. The firm has a market cap of $72.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.49.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.43 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $12.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.92 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. General Dynamics’s revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.88 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th were issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.61%.

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.