Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $197.24 Million in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 748,559 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $197,238,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 17.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 297,577 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $89,928,000 after purchasing an additional 44,387 shares in the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the third quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Consolidated Planning Corp boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 1.3% during the third quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp now owns 20,606 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,227,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 7.6% during the third quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 5,908 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,785,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Up 2.7 %

GD stock opened at $271.82 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $239.87 and a 1-year high of $316.90. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $257.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $279.99. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $73.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 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%. Equities analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics announced that its board has approved a share repurchase 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. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is 41.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Susquehanna dropped their price target on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup dropped their target price on General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Baird R W downgraded General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $283.00 target price (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.71.

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.