CX Institutional Acquires 476 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

CX Institutional increased its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 10,777 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 476 shares during the period. CX Institutional’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $2,840,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GD. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 241.7% in the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $266.22 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $73.20 billion, a PE ratio of 20.28, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $269.70 and a 200 day moving average of $287.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. General Dynamics Co. has a 12 month low of $257.26 and a 12 month high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.65 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.04 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 43.26%.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $354.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut General Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $283.00 to $245.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $304.88.

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.