98,640 Shares in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Acquired by Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 98,640 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,809,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 241.7% in the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics during the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 120.0% in the second quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In related news, 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 sale, the director now directly owns 3,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,106,515.60. The trade was a 26.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the sale, the vice president now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded General Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $293.00 to $345.00 in a report on Friday, August 9th. Barclays raised their target price on General Dynamics from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on General Dynamics from $333.00 to $352.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $331.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.69.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GD opened at $271.80 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $74.74 billion, a PE ratio of 20.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.59. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $296.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $295.03. 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 results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by ($0.13). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. The firm had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.04 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.26%.

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.