Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators Has $235,000 Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 14.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 891 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators’ holdings in General Dynamics were worth $235,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of GD. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of General Dynamics 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 sale, the director now owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GD has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $283.00 price objective (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Barclays cut their price objective on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price target (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, General Dynamics presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $298.59.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE GD opened at $243.02 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 company has a market capitalization of $65.70 billion, a PE ratio of 17.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a 52-week low of $239.87 and a 52-week high of $316.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $259.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $282.54.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share 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%. On average, research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

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

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were paid a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.64%.

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.