Trueblood Wealth Management LLC Acquires 128 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Trueblood Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,351 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 128 shares during the quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $619,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GD. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 40,389.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,379,472 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $416,876,000 after buying an additional 1,376,065 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 9.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,307,612,000 after purchasing an additional 943,247 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 13.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,674,998,000 after buying an additional 638,342 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its position in General Dynamics by 117.0% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 858,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $259,469,000 after buying an additional 463,000 shares during the period. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 2,189.3% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 374,207 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $108,572,000 after acquiring an additional 357,861 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on GD. TD Cowen upgraded General Dynamics to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Vertical Research lowered shares of 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. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $283.00 to $245.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One equities 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $304.53.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GD opened at $266.86 on Monday. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $272.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $288.19. The company has a market cap of $73.38 billion, a PE ratio of 20.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $247.36 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly 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 firm 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.04 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

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

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan 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. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.