CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC Has $20.20 Million Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC trimmed its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 77,245 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 601 shares during the quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $20,197,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GD. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on GD shares. BTIG Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price target (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Vertical Research downgraded General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.71.

General Dynamics Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of GD opened at $272.71 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $73.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. 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 52 week low of $239.87 and a 52 week high of $316.90. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $258.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $276.41.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its 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 net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. On average, analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.99%.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was 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. The trade was 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 on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

About General Dynamics

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.