AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC Purchases New Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 2,547 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $671,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GD. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE GD opened at $269.60 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $239.87 and a 1 year high of $316.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $72.89 billion, a PE ratio of 19.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $258.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $277.17.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. On average, research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 45,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research downgraded General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on General Dynamics from $244.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $283.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $297.71.

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.