DecisionMap Wealth Management LLC Invests $525,000 in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

DecisionMap Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,994 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $525,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. United Bank boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 5,776 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,746,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth about $115,000. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 3,258 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $985,000 after acquiring an additional 534 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 588,619 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $177,881,000 after acquiring an additional 5,069 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,895 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,479,000 after acquiring an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $283.00 price target (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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 note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $297.71.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were 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 directly owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE GD opened at $260.21 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $257.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $279.30. The company has a market capitalization of $70.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $239.87 and a 1 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 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.99%.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.