Southland Equity Partners LLC Boosts Stock Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Southland Equity Partners LLC lifted its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,103 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $291,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 241.7% in the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $330.00 to $315.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Baird R W lowered General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $295.00 to $279.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD stock opened at $268.07 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $251.62 and a 1-year high of $316.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $73.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $270.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $287.88.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by ($0.13). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. The firm had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.04 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.26%.

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

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.