Columbia Asset Management Has $818,000 Stock Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Columbia Asset Management grew its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 2.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,000 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the quarter. Columbia Asset Management’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $818,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rialto Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in General Dynamics by 213.8% during the 1st quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 91 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Copia Wealth Management acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.3%

GD opened at $275.12 on Thursday. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $239.20 and a 1-year high of $316.90. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $272.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $266.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $73.84 billion, a PE ratio of 20.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.49.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.43 by $0.23. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. The business had revenue of $12.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 41.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on GD shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $300.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group upped their price target on General Dynamics from $268.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on General Dynamics from $261.00 to $236.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. BTIG Research downgraded General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, William Blair downgraded General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $293.00.

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.