AXQ Capital LP Purchases 1,284 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

AXQ Capital LP increased its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 81.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,857 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 1,284 shares during the quarter. AXQ Capital LP’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $753,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GD. Community Bank N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 5,461 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,650,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 0.9% in the third quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,344 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,313,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Purus Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in General Dynamics by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Purus Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,660 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $701,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY now owns 1,012 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total transaction of $7,499,895.82. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

General Dynamics Price Performance

GD opened at $263.30 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a 12-month low of $239.87 and a 12-month high of $316.90. The company has a market cap of $71.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $258.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $277.79.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share (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%. Research analysts predict 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 program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 43.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on GD. Wolfe Research cut General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $244.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. 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. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.71.

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.