Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas Boosts Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas raised its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 118,353 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 1,545 shares during the period. General Dynamics comprises 1.8% of Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas’ holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas’ holdings in General Dynamics were worth $31,185,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GD. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in General Dynamics by 67.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 3,448 shares during the period. Olstein Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in General Dynamics by 36.4% during the third quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 15,000 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,533,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 37,074 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $11,204,000 after buying an additional 3,363 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in General Dynamics by 69.1% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 261,992 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $69,032,000 after acquiring an additional 107,095 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lummis Asset Management LP boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 32.6% in the third quarter. Lummis Asset Management LP now owns 10,368 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,133,000 after acquiring an additional 2,551 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Susquehanna lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $330.00 to $315.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut General Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $283.00 to $245.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $304.88.

General Dynamics Price Performance

General Dynamics stock opened at $266.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.32. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $269.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $287.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $257.26 and a 1 year high of $316.90.

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

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 43.26%.

General Dynamics announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback 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 often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.