Asset Planning Inc Acquires New Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 1,092 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $288,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Planning grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 4.2% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 46,948 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $14,188,000 after purchasing an additional 1,906 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,775 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,745,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC now owns 3,110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $940,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC now owns 1,602 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $484,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Good Life Advisors LLC raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 114.1% in the 3rd quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 9,372 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,831,000 after acquiring an additional 4,995 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Dynamics Trading Down 2.1 %

NYSE GD opened at $246.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market cap of $67.68 billion, a PE ratio of 18.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $242.86 and a one year high of $316.90. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $263.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $284.85.

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

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 41.64%.

General Dynamics declared that its board has authorized 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 reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on GD. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. BTIG Research downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Vertical Research cut shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $298.59.

Insider Activity

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.52% 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.