2,850 Shares in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Purchased by one8zero8 LLC

one8zero8 LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 2,850 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $751,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,689 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,553,000 after purchasing an additional 1,283 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 67.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,546 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,583,000 after purchasing an additional 3,448 shares during the period. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at about $607,000. Hickory Point Bank & Trust bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at about $692,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 69.1% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 261,992 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $69,032,000 after purchasing an additional 107,095 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

GD stock opened at $262.19 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $257.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $278.90. The stock has a market cap of $70.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.22, 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.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is 43.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on GD shares. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of 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, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $297.71.

General Dynamics Company 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.