Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. Takes $47,000 Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 180 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

General Dynamics Price Performance

General Dynamics stock opened at $263.30 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a 12 month low of $239.87 and a 12 month high of $316.90. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $258.50 and its 200-day moving average is $277.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market capitalization of $71.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.30, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued 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%. Equities research analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Dynamics news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total transaction of $7,499,895.82. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at $12,297,195.12. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on GD shares. Wolfe Research lowered General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 target price (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price target (down previously 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 given a hold rating, seven have given 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 an average price target of $297.71.

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.