General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Stake Boosted by Chicago Capital LLC

Chicago Capital LLC raised its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 16.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,231 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 173 shares during the period. Chicago Capital LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $324,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GD. Czech National Bank grew its position in General Dynamics by 21.3% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 52,532 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $15,875,000 after purchasing an additional 9,208 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 17.2% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,834 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,159,000 after buying an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. WealthBridge Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the third quarter valued at $250,000. Diversified Trust Co lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 2,163 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $654,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC boosted its position in General Dynamics by 26.6% during the 3rd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 2,486 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $751,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $330.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $301.24.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.1 %

General Dynamics stock opened at $256.80 on Tuesday. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $247.01 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $267.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $286.76. The firm has a market cap of $70.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. As a group, analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.88 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is 41.64%.

General Dynamics announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.