PFG Advisors Purchases 97 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

PFG Advisors grew its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,565 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the quarter. PFG Advisors’ holdings in General Dynamics were worth $3,047,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 32.4% in the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 34,560 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $9,106,000 after purchasing an additional 8,450 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 3,987 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,050,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Cushing Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $654,000. Cornerstone Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 21,300 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,612,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 25,394 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,691,000 after purchasing an additional 1,636 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on GD shares. William Blair lowered General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Vertical Research downgraded General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $297.71.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total transaction of $7,499,895.82. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value 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. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE:GD opened at $260.21 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $70.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $239.87 and a 1 year high of $316.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $257.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $279.30.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. On average, analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 43.99%.

General Dynamics announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board 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.