OneAscent Financial Services LLC Boosts Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

OneAscent Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 6.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,471 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $651,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Trading Up 0.7 %

GD stock opened at $276.14 on Thursday. 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 $74.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.24, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $259.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $276.19. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $239.87 and a 52 week high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly 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, equities research analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 43.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on General Dynamics from $244.00 to $261.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $298.59.

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.