Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Purchases 2,653 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 10.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,034 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,653 shares during the quarter. General Dynamics makes up 1.5% of Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $7,123,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on GD. Vertical Research downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna cut their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $297.71.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE:GD opened at $273.93 on Wednesday. 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 cap of $74.06 billion, a PE ratio of 20.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a 50-day moving average of $258.90 and a 200 day moving average of $276.19. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $239.87 and a 1-year high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.99%.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback 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 a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 transaction of $459,201.28. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value 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 $12,297,195.12. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.