Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC Increases Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,165 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 118 shares during the quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,097,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Planning raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 46,948 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $14,188,000 after purchasing an additional 1,906 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in General Dynamics by 2.9% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,775 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,745,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC now owns 3,110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $940,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC now owns 1,602 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $484,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Good Life Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 114.1% in the 3rd quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 9,372 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,831,000 after acquiring an additional 4,995 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were 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 $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

General Dynamics stock opened at $246.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $263.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $284.85. General Dynamics Co. has a 12 month low of $242.86 and a 12 month high of $316.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.68 billion, a PE ratio of 18.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.61.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 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%. Equities analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.84 earnings per share for the current year.

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

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were given a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 41.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Vertical Research downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Baird R W downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $298.59.

General Dynamics Company 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.