Ellis Investment Partners LLC Purchases 134 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Ellis Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,327 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. Ellis Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,404,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GD. Coston McIsaac & Partners raised 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 last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 1,482 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $448,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,223 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $672,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC grew 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Community Bank N.A. boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 5,461 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,650,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on GD shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays cut their price objective on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $298.59.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of GD opened at $241.98 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.42 billion, a PE ratio of 17.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $239.87 and a 1-year high of $316.90. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $261.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $284.25.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced 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, equities research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.84 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were given a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.64%.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program 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 programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.