Jones Financial Companies Lllp Increases Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 45.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 80,565 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,144 shares during the quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $21,228,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC now owns 955 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 0.6% in the third quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 5,461 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,650,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 1.8% in the third quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 2,042 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $617,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 0.9% during the third quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,344 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,313,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Purus Wealth Management LLC increased its position in General Dynamics by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Purus Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,660 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $701,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:GD opened at $252.87 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $258.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $281.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.54, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $239.87 and a 1 year high of $316.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. Equities analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were paid a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.64%.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on GD. Barclays reduced their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 target price (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wolfe Research cut shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. BTIG Research lowered General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.71.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company 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.