Brighton Jones LLC Acquires 61 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,471 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $642,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vicus Capital bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth about $230,000. Mission Wealth Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 10.0% during the third quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 1,798 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $397,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in General Dynamics by 1.2% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 438,854 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $96,974,000 after acquiring an additional 5,050 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its stake in General Dynamics by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 239,058 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $52,825,000 after purchasing an additional 5,737 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 8,403 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,857,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on GD. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group raised General Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $305.00 to $335.00 in a report on Monday. StockNews.com raised General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on General Dynamics from $291.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $301.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $297.06.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 103,345 shares in the company, valued at $29,816,065.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other General Dynamics news, 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 value 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 103,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,816,065.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of GD opened at $286.53 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market cap of $78.61 billion, a PE ratio of 23.37, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.66. General Dynamics Co. has a 12-month low of $202.35 and a 12-month high of $296.50. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $281.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $262.88.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released 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 firm had revenue of $10.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.64 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 46.33%.

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.