Vanguard Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 23,780,078 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 706,317 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 8.65% of General Dynamics worth $6,265,813,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GD. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,689 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,553,000 after acquiring an additional 1,283 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $607,000. Hickory Point Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $692,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 69.1% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 261,992 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $69,032,000 after purchasing an additional 107,095 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $550,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on GD shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. BTIG Research cut shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Baird R W cut shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $297.71.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE:GD opened at $263.30 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $71.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $239.87 and a 1-year high of $316.90. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $258.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $277.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 EPS 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

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

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 43.99%.

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.