Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. Purchases 321 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. raised its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 17,419 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the quarter. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $4,590,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

General Dynamics Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:GD opened at $252.87 on Monday. General Dynamics Co. has a 52-week low of $239.87 and a 52-week high of $316.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.54, a PEG 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. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $258.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $281.00.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its earnings results 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 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. Analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

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

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In related news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the business’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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on GD shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $276.00 to $244.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 target price (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Vertical Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group cut their price target on General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 price objective (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.71.

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.