Beacon Capital Management LLC Has $79,000 Stock Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Beacon Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 31.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 298 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Beacon Capital Management LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $79,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in General Dynamics by 241.7% during the 3rd 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 acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of GD stock opened at $241.98 on Monday. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $261.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $284.19. The company has a market capitalization of $66.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.74, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $239.87 and a twelve month high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. As a group, research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.84 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.64%.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on GD. Wolfe Research lowered General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. BTIG Research downgraded General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group cut their price target on General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $298.59.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is 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.