Crowley Wealth Management Inc. Takes Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,234 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $589,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GD. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on GD shares. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 target price (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wolfe Research cut shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $297.71.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD stock opened at $263.30 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $71.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.30, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $258.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $277.79. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $239.87 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90. 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 posted 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%. Analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.99%.

General Dynamics declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In related news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares in the company, 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. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

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.