General Dynamics Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:GD)

General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Investors bought 3,476 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 36% compared to the average volume of 2,559 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $291.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on General Dynamics from $253.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Alembic Global Advisors cut General Dynamics from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $296.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on General Dynamics from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.80.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD stock traded down $13.16 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $279.56. 951,438 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,064,378. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company’s 50 day moving average is $280.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $261.08. The company has a market cap of $76.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.68. General Dynamics has a 1 year low of $202.35 and a 1 year high of $296.50.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.68 by ($0.04). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.61% and a net margin of 7.84%. The company had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.58 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics will post 14.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 47.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,355 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.31, for a total value of $8,551,750.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 773,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $204,569,860.87. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Mark C. Roualet sold 73,330 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.75, for a total value of $19,414,117.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 149,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,502,023.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,355 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.31, for a total transaction of $8,551,750.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 773,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,569,860.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GD. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 46.8% during the 1st quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 113 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 2.5% during the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 1,503 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $425,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 1.1% during the first quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 3,299 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $932,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC now owns 1,056 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $274,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Woodward Diversified Capital LLC raised its position in General Dynamics by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC now owns 1,727 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $448,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About General Dynamics

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.