General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Purchased by New York Life Investment Management LLC

New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,548 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 424 shares during the quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $9,103,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on GD shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. BTIG Research cut General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on General Dynamics from $276.00 to $244.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.71.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In related news, 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 directly owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:GD opened at $251.53 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 stock has a market cap of $68.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $239.87 and a 1-year high of $316.90. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $258.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $281.44.

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

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 41.64%.

General Dynamics declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.