PYA Waltman Capital LLC Purchases 171 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

PYA Waltman Capital LLC increased its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,624 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 171 shares during the period. PYA Waltman Capital LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $2,009,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in General Dynamics by 241.7% during the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $246.25 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a 52-week low of $239.87 and a 52-week high of $316.90. The stock has a market cap of $66.57 billion, a PE ratio of 18.05, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $260.08 and a 200-day moving average of $282.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced 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 return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were given a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BTIG Research cut General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price 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, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $298.59.

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.