Diversify Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 9.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,114 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 817 shares during the quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $2,364,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GD. Coston McIsaac & Partners boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 22.8% during the 3rd quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 178 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 2.3% during the third quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 1,482 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $448,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 10.6% in the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 354 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 1.6% during the third quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,223 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jeppson Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 3.8% during the third quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC now owns 955 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Vertical Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $330.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut General Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $283.00 to $245.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $304.53.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

GD opened at $266.86 on Tuesday. General Dynamics Co. has a 12-month low of $247.36 and a 12-month high of $316.90. The company has a market cap of $73.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.32, a PEG ratio of 1.38 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. The company’s 50 day moving average is $272.86 and its 200 day moving average is $288.21.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by ($0.13). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. The business had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.04 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.81 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business 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 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.26%.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.