Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. Has $6.02 Million Stock Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. grew its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,832 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,063 shares during the quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $6,016,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GD. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,307,612,000 after purchasing an additional 943,247 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at about $197,238,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position 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 valued at $1,674,998,000 after buying an additional 638,342 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in General Dynamics by 117.0% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 858,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $259,469,000 after buying an additional 463,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in General Dynamics by 43.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 942,485 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $284,818,000 after buying an additional 283,972 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on GD shares. Citigroup decreased their target price on General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays decreased their target price on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Baird R W lowered General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Vertical Research lowered General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $297.71.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

GD stock opened at $262.19 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a 12-month low of $239.87 and a 12-month high of $316.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business has a 50 day moving average of $257.89 and a 200-day moving average of $278.98. The firm has a market cap of $70.88 billion, a PE ratio of 19.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59.

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 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, sell-side analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.99%.

General Dynamics announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors 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.