Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Sells 100 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lowered its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 2.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,101 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,158,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of GD. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in General Dynamics in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in General Dynamics by 46.8% in the 1st quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 113 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Trading Down 0.7 %

GD opened at $285.84 on Wednesday. General Dynamics Co. has a 12 month low of $211.94 and a 12 month high of $302.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.31, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $294.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $278.32.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.89 by ($0.01). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 7.85%. The company had revenue of $10.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on GD. Argus upped their price objective on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on General Dynamics from $291.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays upped their price objective on General Dynamics from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. BTIG Research started coverage on General Dynamics in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $345.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $305.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Dynamics news, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total transaction of $3,914,215.17. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 103,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,816,065.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other General Dynamics news, CFO Kimberly A. Kuryea sold 13,344 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.16, for a total transaction of $3,978,647.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 79,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,630,670.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total value of $3,914,215.17. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 103,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,816,065.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 118,486 shares of company stock valued at $34,391,642 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.