Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. Purchases New Shares in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 218 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $57,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on GD. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $253.00 to $284.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $291.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of General Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $305.00 to $335.00 in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Alembic Global Advisors lowered General Dynamics from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $296.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $300.53.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In related news, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total value of $3,914,215.17. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 103,345 shares in the company, valued at $29,816,065.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other General Dynamics news, Director Leon Rudy F. De sold 2,570 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.00, for a total value of $740,160.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,518 shares in the company, valued at $1,589,184. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 103,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,816,065.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 65,987 shares of company stock valued at $18,836,700 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

GD traded up $1.99 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $293.37. The stock had a trading volume of 709,808 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,109,033. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.44. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $283.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $264.48. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $202.35 and a twelve month high of $296.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.93, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.67.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $10.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.26 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is 46.33%.

General Dynamics Company 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.