Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Acquires 278 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,361 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $2,994,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 515,973 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $135,954,000 after acquiring an additional 4,981 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 9,636 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,539,000 after acquiring an additional 1,091 shares in the last quarter. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $288,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 843 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 48.9% in the fourth quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 29,705 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,827,000 after purchasing an additional 9,759 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Trading Down 1.7 %

General Dynamics stock opened at $241.98 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. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $239.87 and a one year high of $316.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.54 billion, a PE ratio of 17.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.61. The business’s fifty day moving average is $262.55 and its 200 day moving average is $284.58.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.84 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is 41.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on GD shares. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $283.00 price objective (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Baird R W downgraded General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, BTIG Research downgraded General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $298.59.

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.