LVZ Inc. Acquires 328 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

LVZ Inc. lifted its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 16.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,372 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 328 shares during the quarter. LVZ Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $625,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GD. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 17.6% during the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 1,803 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $549,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in General Dynamics by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 38,694 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $11,779,000 after acquiring an additional 3,682 shares during the last quarter. BSW Wealth Partners purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the third quarter valued at $202,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in General Dynamics by 16.2% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 45,476 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $13,743,000 after purchasing an additional 6,352 shares during the period. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 1.8% during the third quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 2,042 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $617,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE GD opened at $250.68 on Wednesday. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $239.87 and a 52 week high of $316.90. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $257.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $280.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.77 billion, a PE ratio of 18.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 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 (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In related news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen cut their price target on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.71.

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.