Advisory Resource Group Purchases Shares of 17,924 General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Advisory Resource Group purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 17,924 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,723,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 241.7% during the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $279.00 to $276.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on 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, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 target price (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $300.06.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD stock opened at $254.84 on Friday. 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 cap of $70.07 billion, a PE ratio of 18.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $264.47 and a 200-day moving average of $285.62. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $247.01 and a one year high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.84 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were given a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.64%.

General Dynamics announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the company’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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.