103,843 Shares in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Bought by World Investment Advisors LLC

World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 103,843 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,381,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in General Dynamics by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,079 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,536,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the second quarter worth about $72,000. Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,441 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,241,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC lifted its position in General Dynamics by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 914 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $265,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 1,367.8% during the 2nd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,277 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GD opened at $271.80 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $74.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $296.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $295.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $247.36 and a 1-year high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.48 by ($0.13). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 7.90%. The business had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.65 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.04 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.26%.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on GD shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on General Dynamics from $317.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on General Dynamics from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. TD Cowen raised shares of General Dynamics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $333.00 to $352.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.69.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.05, for a total value of $406,626.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,106,515.60. The trade was a 26.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.