Capital Market Strategies LLC Purchases 123 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Capital Market Strategies LLC boosted its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,492 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 123 shares during the period. Capital Market Strategies LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $393,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 1,683 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in General Dynamics by 17.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 297,577 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $89,928,000 after purchasing an additional 44,387 shares in the last quarter. FFG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. FFG Partners LLC now owns 19,875 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,006,000 after purchasing an additional 668 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 56,384 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $17,039,000 after purchasing an additional 6,231 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Trust increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 43.1% during the third quarter. American Trust now owns 2,766 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $836,000 after purchasing an additional 833 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on GD shares. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded General Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $283.00 to $245.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. TD Cowen raised General Dynamics to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Vertical Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a report on Monday. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $333.00 to $352.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $312.76.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

General Dynamics Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE:GD traded down $1.65 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $261.72. 529,147 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,173,520. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $247.36 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $280.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $290.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.93, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.48 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.65 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 7.90%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.04 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.84 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.26%.

General Dynamics declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.