Catalina Capital Group LLC Acquires 81 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Catalina Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,123 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 81 shares during the quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $296,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in General Dynamics by 40,389.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,379,472 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $416,876,000 after acquiring an additional 1,376,065 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 9.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,307,612,000 after purchasing an additional 943,247 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 13.0% during the third 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 last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 117.0% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 858,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $259,469,000 after buying an additional 463,000 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 43.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 942,485 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $284,818,000 after buying an additional 283,972 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD opened at $256.80 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $267.05 and a 200-day moving average of $286.76. The company has a market cap of $70.61 billion, a PE ratio of 18.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.61. 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 $247.01 and a one year high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 41.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on GD. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $354.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $279.00 to $276.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Baird R W lowered General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Vertical Research cut General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $301.24.

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.