Proficio Capital Partners LLC Invests $49.94 Million in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 189,514 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,935,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC owned about 0.07% of General Dynamics as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the third quarter worth $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of GD opened at $251.53 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $68.00 billion, a PE ratio of 18.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $239.87 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $258.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $281.44.

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

General Dynamics announced that its board has approved a share 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 reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on GD. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $276.00 to $244.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. BTIG Research downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.71.

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.