Benjamin Edwards Inc. Sells 131 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lowered its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 11.4% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,017 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 131 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $295,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the first quarter worth $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the first quarter worth $29,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $345.00 price objective on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $330.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of General Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $293.00 to $345.00 in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $315.06.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE GD opened at $306.87 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $214.53 and a fifty-two week high of $309.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.03, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $294.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $291.09.

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

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 11th will be paid a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 11th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 46.33%.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other news, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of the company’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 owns 3,592 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,515.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

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.