General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Purchased by Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC

Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,356 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $357,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth $2,937,000. Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,444 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $380,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Denver PWM LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth $55,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 6,701 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,766,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 62,313 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $16,419,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares during 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 have issued reports on GD shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on General Dynamics from $279.00 to $276.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective 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. Susquehanna cut their price objective on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $298.59.

Insider Activity

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 sale, the director now owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD opened at $243.02 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $259.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $282.49. 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 has a market capitalization of $65.70 billion, a PE ratio of 17.82, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $239.87 and a 1 year high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share (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%. On average, analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were paid a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 41.64%.

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