General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Acquired by Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC

Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,742 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,249,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 price objective (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective 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. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 target price (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, 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 research report on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $298.59.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE:GD opened at $249.83 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $258.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $281.88. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $239.87 and a 1-year high of $316.90. 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 $67.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.61.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were given a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 41.64%.

General Dynamics declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs 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 General Dynamics 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.60% 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.