Capital Market Strategies LLC Acquires 123 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Capital Market Strategies LLC raised its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,492 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the quarter. Capital Market Strategies LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $393,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of GD. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its position in General Dynamics by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 1,683 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 17.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 297,577 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $89,928,000 after acquiring an additional 44,387 shares during the last quarter. FFG Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 3.5% during the third quarter. FFG Partners LLC now owns 19,875 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,006,000 after acquiring an additional 668 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 12.4% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 56,384 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $17,039,000 after acquiring an additional 6,231 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Trust increased its position in General Dynamics by 43.1% in the third quarter. American Trust now owns 2,766 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $836,000 after purchasing an additional 833 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Vertical Research cut shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on General Dynamics from $322.00 to $295.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on General Dynamics from $333.00 to $352.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $312.76.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE GD traded down $1.65 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $261.72. The company had a trading volume of 529,147 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,173,520. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $280.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $290.31. The company has a market capitalization of $71.96 billion, a PE ratio of 19.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $247.36 and a one year high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.65 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.04 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.84 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.26%.

General Dynamics announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.