Intellectus Partners LLC Purchases 368 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Intellectus Partners LLC boosted its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 16.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,667 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 368 shares during the quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $703,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 17.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 297,577 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $89,928,000 after acquiring an additional 44,387 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in General Dynamics in the third quarter worth approximately $71,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics in the third quarter worth approximately $741,000. United Bank raised its stake in General Dynamics by 4.0% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 5,776 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,746,000 after buying an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in General Dynamics by 0.5% in the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,450 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,554,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on GD shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $244.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Baird R W lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, BTIG Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

General Dynamics Price Performance

NYSE:GD opened at $271.82 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $239.87 and a one year high of $316.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market cap of $73.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.93, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $257.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $279.88.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 EPS 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%. Research analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.64%.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.