Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC raised its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 1.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,416 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $3,602,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GD. Norges Bank purchased a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $728,284,000. Verity & Verity LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the first quarter valued at approximately $179,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in General Dynamics by 3,645.4% during the fourth quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 558,586 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $145,048,000 after purchasing an additional 543,672 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its stake in General Dynamics by 879.9% during the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 340,359 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $96,148,000 after purchasing an additional 305,624 shares during the period. Finally, Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at $43,733,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird restated an “outperform” rating and set a $345.00 price objective on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on General Dynamics from $330.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays boosted their target price on General Dynamics from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $345.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $315.06.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

General Dynamics stock opened at $301.56 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $291.07 and a 200-day moving average of $289.30. The stock has a market cap of $82.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $214.53 and a 52 week high of $303.10.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.30 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $11.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.46 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 7.89%. General Dynamics’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.70 EPS. On average, analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 11th will be given a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 11th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 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.