PFW Advisors LLC Takes Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,936 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,037,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 385.2% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 131 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,968 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,441,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 30.1% in the 2nd quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 5,717 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,658,000 after acquiring an additional 1,321 shares in the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 9.9% in the second quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 1,712 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $497,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 1.0% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 870,968 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $252,703,000 after purchasing an additional 8,738 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

General Dynamics stock traded up $4.35 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $263.73. 1,359,973 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,481,726. The company’s fifty day moving average is $276.54 and its 200-day moving average is $288.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.32. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $247.36 and a 52 week high of $316.90. The firm has a market cap of $72.52 billion, a PE ratio of 20.09, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.48 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.65 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 7.90%. General Dynamics’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.04 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.84 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on GD shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wolfe Research lowered General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup lifted their target price on General Dynamics from $331.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $330.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $308.18.

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.