Stratos Investment Management LLC Purchases 8,554 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Stratos Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 93.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 17,732 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,554 shares during the period. Stratos Investment Management LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $4,672,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Coston McIsaac & Partners lifted its position in General Dynamics by 22.8% during the 3rd quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 178 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its stake in General Dynamics by 2.3% in the third quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 1,482 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $448,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 10.6% during 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 lifted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Jeppson Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in General Dynamics by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC now owns 955 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

General Dynamics stock opened at $257.64 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $70.84 billion, a PE ratio of 18.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. General Dynamics Co. has a 12-month low of $247.01 and a 12-month high of $316.90. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $266.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $286.50.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. As a group, analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GD. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, General Dynamics presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $300.06.

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.