Vest Financial LLC Boosts Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Vest Financial LLC increased its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 10.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 189,006 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 17,115 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $49,801,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 241.7% in the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on GD shares. 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. Vertical Research cut shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wolfe Research downgraded General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price 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, eleven have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $300.06.

General Dynamics Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of GD stock opened at $254.84 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $70.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.68, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $265.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $285.87. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $247.01 and a 1-year high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were paid a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.64%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.