Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Boosts Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,361 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $2,994,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GD. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 40,389.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,379,472 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $416,876,000 after purchasing an additional 1,376,065 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,307,612,000 after purchasing an additional 943,247 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,674,998,000 after purchasing an additional 638,342 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 117.0% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 858,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $259,469,000 after acquiring an additional 463,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 43.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 942,485 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $284,818,000 after acquiring an additional 283,972 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $241.98 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $262.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $284.58. The company has a market capitalization of $66.54 billion, a PE ratio of 17.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $239.87 and a 52 week high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 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, analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.84 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were given a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.64%.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on GD shares. Wolfe Research cut General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $298.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Dynamics news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

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.