Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. Increases Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,841 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the quarter. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,276,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 241.7% during the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Dynamics Stock Down 1.2 %

GD stock opened at $255.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $265.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $286.09. General Dynamics Co. has a 12 month low of $247.01 and a 12 month high of $316.90. The company has a market capitalization of $70.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.61.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.88 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management 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 dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 41.64%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on GD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $283.00 price objective (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $300.06.

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.