Ellis Investment Partners LLC Increases Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Ellis Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,327 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 134 shares during the period. Ellis Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,404,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 46,948 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $14,188,000 after purchasing an additional 1,906 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 6,808 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,057,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $582,000. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 7,101 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,146,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 25,354 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $7,662,000 after purchasing an additional 1,476 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Dynamics Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $241.98 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $239.87 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90. The firm has a market cap of $65.42 billion, a PE ratio of 17.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.61. The business’s fifty day moving average is $261.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $284.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

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%. Analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.84 earnings per share for the current year.

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

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.64%.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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. 1.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GD has been the subject of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Wolfe Research downgraded General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Barclays dropped their price target on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $298.59.

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.