LifePlan Financial LLC Buys 207 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

LifePlan Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 15.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,528 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 207 shares during the period. LifePlan Financial LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $462,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the first quarter worth $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics during the second quarter worth about $29,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.05, for a total value of $406,626.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,106,515.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on GD shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley raised General Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $293.00 to $345.00 in a research note on Friday, August 9th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $345.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of General Dynamics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $334.00 to $317.00 in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $320.00 to $314.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $317.06.

General Dynamics Price Performance

NYSE:GD opened at $299.61 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $297.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $292.77. General Dynamics Co. has a 52-week low of $214.53 and a 52-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 company has a market cap of $82.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.61.

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

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 11th will be paid a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.33%.

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.