General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Purchased by Norway Savings Bank

Norway Savings Bank raised its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,983 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Norway Savings Bank’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,049,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in GD. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in General Dynamics by 241.7% during the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in General Dynamics by 385.2% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 131 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on GD. TD Cowen upgraded General Dynamics to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $330.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price target (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $311.29.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of GD stock traded up $0.77 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $258.76. 720,587 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,402,053. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.71, a P/E/G 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. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $279.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $290.01.

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

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.26%.

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

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were 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 approximately $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

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.