EntryPoint Capital LLC Raises Stock Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

EntryPoint Capital LLC lifted its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,599 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $421,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp raised its position in General Dynamics by 9.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,307,612,000 after purchasing an additional 943,247 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $197,238,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in General Dynamics by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,780,078 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,265,813,000 after buying an additional 706,317 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 13.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,674,998,000 after buying an additional 638,342 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in General Dynamics by 117.0% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 858,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $259,469,000 after acquiring an additional 463,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 approximately $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,224. This trade represents 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.

General Dynamics Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:GD opened at $267.61 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $72.35 billion, a PE ratio of 19.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. General Dynamics Co. has a 12-month low of $239.87 and a 12-month high of $316.90. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $258.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $277.27.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 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, equities research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Vertical Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 target price (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. 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 note on Tuesday, February 4th. Baird R W cut General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price objective on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One equities 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.