Impact Capital Partners LLC Purchases New Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Impact Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 873 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $230,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,689 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,553,000 after acquiring an additional 1,283 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 67.6% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,546 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,583,000 after acquiring an additional 3,448 shares during the period. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $607,000. Hickory Point Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $692,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 69.1% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 261,992 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $69,032,000 after acquiring an additional 107,095 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Dynamics Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of GD stock opened at $262.19 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $239.87 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90. The stock has a market cap of $70.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $257.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $278.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

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 return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. On average, analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business 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 2.29%. 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 (DPR) is currently 43.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on GD shares. Susquehanna decreased their price target on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. William Blair downgraded General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. 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, General Dynamics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.71.

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.