Allen Capital Group LLC Raises Stock Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Allen Capital Group LLC increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,635 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Allen Capital Group LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $431,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 1,482 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $448,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 178 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 10.6% during the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 354 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in General Dynamics by 1.6% in the third quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,223 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $672,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jeppson Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 3.8% in the third quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC now owns 955 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $330.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $354.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $330.00 to $315.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $303.71.

Insider Activity

In other General Dynamics news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

General Dynamics Price Performance

GD stock opened at $251.52 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $268.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $287.48. The stock has a market cap of $69.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $247.01 and a 1 year high of $316.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted 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 net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. Research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 43.26%.

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

About General Dynamics

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.