General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Acquired by Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC

Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 18.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,949 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 467 shares during the quarter. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $777,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GD. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,205,330 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,292,851,000 after purchasing an additional 109,618 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,307,612,000 after purchasing an additional 943,247 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,829,662 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,366,124,000 after acquiring an additional 189,904 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,674,998,000 after acquiring an additional 638,342 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,940,537 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,493,030,000 after acquiring an additional 24,464 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of GD stock opened at $250.68 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $257.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $280.39. 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 capitalization of $67.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.61. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has approved 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. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on GD shares. UBS Group decreased their price target on General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays cut their target price on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Vertical Research lowered General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 target price (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.71.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

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.