Columbus Macro LLC Boosts Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Columbus Macro LLC increased its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 54.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,023 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,479 shares during the quarter. Columbus Macro LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,851,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the firm’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 sale, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wolfe Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup upped their price target on General Dynamics from $354.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $279.00 to $276.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $301.24.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD stock opened at $256.80 on Tuesday. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $247.01 and a 1-year high of $316.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market capitalization of $70.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $267.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $286.76.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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, sell-side analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is 41.64%.

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.