Rodgers Brothers Inc. Grows Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Rodgers Brothers Inc. boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 125.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,116 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,645 shares during the quarter. Rodgers Brothers Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $5,037,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GD. United Bank increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 5,776 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,746,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in General Dynamics by 7.5% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 57,899 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $17,497,000 after buying an additional 4,024 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 4.6% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 666,544 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $201,430,000 after buying an additional 29,223 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 38,004 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $11,485,000 after buying an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 213,652 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $64,566,000 after acquiring an additional 10,600 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

General Dynamics stock opened at $268.99 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $258.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $276.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market cap of $72.72 billion, a PE ratio of 19.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $239.87 and a twelve month high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. 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 2.23%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 43.99%.

General Dynamics announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on GD. Royal Bank of Canada lowered 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 lowered their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on General Dynamics from $244.00 to $261.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $297.71.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

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.