Welch Group LLC Boosts Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Welch Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 8.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,027 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 159 shares during the quarter. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $534,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 48.6% during the fourth quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 3,910 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,030,000 after purchasing an additional 1,279 shares in the last quarter. WESPAC Advisors SoCal LLC raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. WESPAC Advisors SoCal LLC now owns 21,196 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,585,000 after purchasing an additional 2,076 shares during the period. Rockline Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Rockline Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,473 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,340,000 after purchasing an additional 761 shares in the last quarter. Columbus Macro LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 54.6% in the fourth quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 7,023 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,851,000 after purchasing an additional 2,479 shares during the period. Finally, Childress Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 767 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $202,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

GD stock opened at $256.80 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $267.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $286.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.61 billion, a PE ratio of 18.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $247.01 and a one year high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share (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%. On average, analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.88 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.64%.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan 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 plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Vertical Research lowered General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $300.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics 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.