PFW Advisors LLC Takes $1.04 Million Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 3,936 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,037,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GD. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 385.2% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 131 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,968 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,441,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 30.1% during the second quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 5,717 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,658,000 after acquiring an additional 1,321 shares during the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 9.9% during the second quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 1,712 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $497,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 1.0% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 870,968 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $252,703,000 after acquiring an additional 8,738 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE GD traded up $4.35 during trading on Monday, reaching $263.73. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,359,973 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,481,726. General Dynamics Co. has a 12 month low of $247.36 and a 12 month high of $316.90. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $276.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $288.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released 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 net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. The firm had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.04 earnings per share. General Dynamics’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

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 paid a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on GD shares. Citigroup increased their price target on General Dynamics from $331.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on General Dynamics from $330.00 to $315.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Vertical Research cut General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $295.00 to $279.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $308.18.

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.