General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Holdings Lifted by Portfolio Design Labs LLC

Portfolio Design Labs LLC grew its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 19.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,443 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 1,067 shares during the period. Portfolio Design Labs LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,698,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Grove Bank & Trust grew its position in General Dynamics by 10.6% in the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 354 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its position in General Dynamics by 4.2% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 46,948 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $14,188,000 after buying an additional 1,906 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. grew its position in General Dynamics by 0.5% in the third quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 8,692 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,626,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Norway Savings Bank grew its position in General Dynamics by 7.2% in the third quarter. Norway Savings Bank now owns 3,809 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,151,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SWS Partners grew its position in General Dynamics by 39,352.6% in the third quarter. SWS Partners now owns 7,496 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,265,000 after buying an additional 7,477 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE GD opened at $256.92 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $264.07 and a 200-day moving average of $285.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market cap of $70.65 billion, a PE ratio of 18.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a 52-week low of $247.01 and a 52-week high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.84 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on GD shares. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $279.00 to $276.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Vertical Research cut shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Baird R W cut shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $298.59.

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.