Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. Takes $426,000 Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. bought a new stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 1,617 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $426,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on GD. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on General Dynamics from $244.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays dropped their target price 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. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $283.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $297.71.

General Dynamics Price Performance

NYSE GD opened at $269.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $258.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $277.17. General Dynamics Co. has a 52-week low of $239.87 and a 52-week high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its 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 net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. Equities research analysts predict 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 stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a $1.50 dividend. 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 2.23%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.99%.

General Dynamics Company 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.