Empire Financial Management Company LLC Raises Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Empire Financial Management Company LLC increased its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 107.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,695 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,912 shares during the quarter. Empire Financial Management Company LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,117,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted 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 period. Olstein Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 36.4% during the 3rd quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 15,000 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,533,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its stake in General Dynamics by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 37,074 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $11,204,000 after buying an additional 3,363 shares in the last quarter. Lummis Asset Management LP raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 32.6% during the 3rd quarter. Lummis Asset Management LP now owns 10,368 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,133,000 after acquiring an additional 2,551 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 0.9% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 588,619 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $177,881,000 after acquiring an additional 5,069 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on GD shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on General Dynamics from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup lifted their target price on General Dynamics from $331.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $333.00 to $352.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.69.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.05, for a total transaction of $406,626.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,106,515.60. The trade was a 26.87 % 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

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $270.46 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $294.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $294.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.37 billion, a PE ratio of 20.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.59. General Dynamics Co. has a 12 month low of $247.36 and a 12 month high of $316.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.48 by ($0.13). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 7.90%. The business had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.65 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.04 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 43.26%.

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.