Financial Advocates Investment Management Increases Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Financial Advocates Investment Management raised its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 16.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 824 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $217,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 40,389.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,379,472 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $416,876,000 after acquiring an additional 1,376,065 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 9.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,307,612,000 after purchasing an additional 943,247 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 13.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,674,998,000 after purchasing an additional 638,342 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 117.0% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 858,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $259,469,000 after purchasing an additional 463,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in General Dynamics by 43.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 942,485 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $284,818,000 after buying an additional 283,972 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were 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 represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $254.84 on Monday. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $247.01 and a twelve month high of $316.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.68, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $264.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $285.56.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. Equities research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.84 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were paid a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 41.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $279.00 to $276.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $283.00 target price (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price target (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $300.06.

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.