Providence First Trust Co Takes $1.15 Million Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Providence First Trust Co bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,359 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,149,000.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $283.00 target price (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on General Dynamics from $276.00 to $244.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Vertical Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, General Dynamics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.71.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE:GD opened at $252.87 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $258.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $281.17. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $239.87 and a one year high of $316.90. The company has a market capitalization of $68.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its earnings results 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 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 fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.64%.

General Dynamics declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was 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 approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.