Beacon Capital Management LLC Grows Stock Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Beacon Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 31.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 298 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $79,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 241.7% in the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen reduced their target price on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group reduced their target price on General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on General Dynamics from $279.00 to $276.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $298.59.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GD opened at $241.98 on Monday. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $239.87 and a 1-year high of $316.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $261.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $284.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.54 billion, a PE ratio of 17.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.61.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share 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%. On average, research analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.84 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.64%.

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.