1,092 Shares in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Acquired by Asset Planning Inc

Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,092 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $288,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in General Dynamics by 67.6% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,546 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,583,000 after purchasing an additional 3,448 shares during the last quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in General Dynamics by 36.4% during the third quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 15,000 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,533,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its stake in General Dynamics by 10.0% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 37,074 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $11,204,000 after buying an additional 3,363 shares during the period. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $607,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in General Dynamics by 69.1% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 261,992 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $69,032,000 after buying an additional 107,095 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD opened at $246.14 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $242.86 and a one year high of $316.90. The company has a 50-day moving average of $263.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $284.85. The stock has a market cap of $67.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.05, a PEG 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 (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.84 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were given a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is 41.64%.

Insider Activity

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of General Dynamics 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 sale, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on GD. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Vertical Research cut shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 target price (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.