RKL Wealth Management LLC Grows Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

RKL Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,409 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,952,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of GD. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the third quarter worth $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake 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.

General Dynamics Trading Up 2.7 %

NYSE:GD opened at $271.82 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $257.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $279.99. 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 12 month low of $239.87 and a 12 month high of $316.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.49 billion, a PE ratio of 19.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. Research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 41.64%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $283.00 target price (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued 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 stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $297.71.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of General Dynamics 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 sale, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.