Rhumbline Advisers Raises Stock Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 515,973 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,981 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.19% of General Dynamics worth $135,954,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 241.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

GD opened at $241.98 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $261.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $284.25. 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 cap of $65.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a 12-month low of $239.87 and a 12-month high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted 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%. Research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GD has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays dropped their price objective on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price objective (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $298.59.

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.