Austin Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Austin Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 826 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Austin Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $220,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,307,612,000 after purchasing an additional 943,247 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth about $197,238,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,674,998,000 after purchasing an additional 638,342 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 117.0% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 858,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $259,469,000 after purchasing an additional 463,000 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 43.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 942,485 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $284,818,000 after purchasing an additional 283,972 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research cut shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Vertical Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group decreased their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $244.00 to $261.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.71.

General Dynamics Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $264.25 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $257.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $279.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. General Dynamics Co. has a 52-week low of $239.87 and a 52-week high of $316.90. The company has a market cap of $71.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.37, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its earnings results 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, sell-side analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 43.99%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 available at this link. 1.52% of the stock is owned by 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.