Americana Partners LLC Increases Stock Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Americana Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 7.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 10,545 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 724 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $3,187,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in General Dynamics by 40,389.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,379,472 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $416,876,000 after acquiring an additional 1,376,065 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 2,189.3% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 374,207 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $108,572,000 after purchasing an additional 357,861 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted 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 in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,639,758 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,216,599,000 after buying an additional 293,316 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 24.2% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,347,247 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $391,119,000 after purchasing an additional 262,164 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.05, for a total transaction of $406,626.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,106,515.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of General Dynamics stock traded up $2.50 during trading on Friday, hitting $294.11. 361,281 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,092,705. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $300.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $294.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $238.31 and a fifty-two week high of $313.11.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.65 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. General Dynamics’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.04 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 11th will be issued a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on GD shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $320.00 to $314.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Barclays boosted their price objective on General Dynamics from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $324.19.

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.