Proficio Capital Partners LLC Takes Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 189,514 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,935,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Vertical Research cut General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.71.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $251.53 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $258.53 and a 200 day moving average of $281.44. General Dynamics Co. has a 12 month low of $239.87 and a 12 month high of $316.90. The firm has a market cap of $68.00 billion, a PE ratio of 18.44, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. On average, research analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were paid a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 41.64%.

General Dynamics announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.