Sonora Investment Management Group LLC Acquires Shares of 779 General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Sonora Investment Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 779 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GD. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 5,335 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,548,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 1,583 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $478,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the period. Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 21.3% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 52,532 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $15,875,000 after purchasing an additional 9,208 shares during the period. Capital Market Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Market Strategies LLC now owns 1,369 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $414,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $242,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $257.17 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $247.01 and a 1 year high of $316.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.32. The company has a market capitalization of $70.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.85, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s fifty day moving average is $267.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $287.02.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued 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 17.08% and a net margin of 7.93%. Analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 15.92 earnings per share for the current year.

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

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 41.64%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Baird R W cut shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Vertical Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $301.24.

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.