Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC Takes Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 1,467 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $387,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Coston McIsaac & Partners lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 178 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 2.3% during the third quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 1,482 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in General Dynamics by 10.6% in the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 354 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,223 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Jeppson Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC now owns 955 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Dynamics news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,701,349.36. This represents 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 through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Up 1.7 %

GD opened at $271.30 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $74.60 billion, a PE ratio of 20.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a 50-day moving average of $271.92 and a 200-day moving average of $288.09. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $247.88 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.48 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.65 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. General Dynamics’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.04 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 43.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut General Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $283.00 to $245.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $330.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $330.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 target price (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on General Dynamics from $354.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $304.88.

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.