Centricity Wealth Management LLC Acquires New Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 166 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,689 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,553,000 after purchasing an additional 1,283 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 67.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,546 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,583,000 after buying an additional 3,448 shares during the period. Olstein Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 36.4% during the 3rd quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 15,000 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,533,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth about $607,000. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 10.0% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 37,074 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $11,204,000 after acquiring an additional 3,363 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Dynamics Price Performance

GD opened at $243.02 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $239.87 and a twelve month high of $316.90. The firm has a market cap of $65.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.82, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $259.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $282.54.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wolfe Research lowered General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. William Blair downgraded General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $298.59.

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.