Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on General Dynamics (NYSE:GD)

General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 3,476 call options on the company. This is an increase of 36% compared to the average daily volume of 2,559 call options.

General Dynamics Stock Down 4.5 %

NYSE GD traded down $13.16 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $279.56. The stock had a trading volume of 951,438 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,064,378. The company has a market capitalization of $76.70 billion, a PE ratio of 24.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.68. General Dynamics has a 12 month low of $202.35 and a 12 month high of $296.50. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $280.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $261.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.44.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.68 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.39 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.61% and a net margin of 7.84%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.58 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that General Dynamics will post 14.56 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors 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 is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 47.25%.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,355 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.31, for a total value of $8,551,750.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 773,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $204,569,860.87. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other General Dynamics news, EVP Mark C. Roualet sold 73,330 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.75, for a total transaction of $19,414,117.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 149,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,502,023.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,355 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.31, for a total transaction of $8,551,750.05. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 773,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,569,860.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Dynamics

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in General Dynamics by 1.9% during the first quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 12,002 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,390,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the first quarter worth approximately $256,000. Charter Oak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $200,000. Canal Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. Canal Capital Management LLC now owns 20,305 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,736,000 after purchasing an additional 1,736 shares during the period. Finally, Busey Bank grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Busey Bank now owns 65,217 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $18,423,000 after buying an additional 950 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on GD. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $283.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Barclays upped their price objective on General Dynamics from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on General Dynamics from $291.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on General Dynamics from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.80.

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.