Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 8,282 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $2,182,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GD. Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on GD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup reduced 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. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 price target (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

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

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD opened at $251.53 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a 12-month low of $239.87 and a 12-month high of $316.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market cap of $68.00 billion, a PE ratio of 18.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50-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 (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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

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

General Dynamics declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan 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. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.