Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Has $6.69 Million Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,394 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,636 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $6,691,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dearborn Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 57,359 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $15,114,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the period. Riverbend Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at $485,000. Davis R M Inc. boosted its position in General Dynamics by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 1,643 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $433,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,913 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,294,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 24,328 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,410,000 after acquiring an additional 955 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $264.25 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $257.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $279.44. General Dynamics Co. has a 12-month low of $239.87 and a 12-month high of $316.90. The company has a market capitalization of $71.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 43.99%.

General Dynamics announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on GD. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 target price (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BTIG Research downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, William Blair lowered shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $297.71.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of General Dynamics 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 sale, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.