Global Retirement Partners LLC Increases Stock Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 14.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,125 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $560,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 8.2% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 18,167 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,490,000 after acquiring an additional 1,374 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Oak Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the third quarter worth approximately $269,000. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 1.5% during the third quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,056 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $924,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 1.6% during the third quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,223 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $672,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWC Advisors LLC. purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the third quarter worth approximately $771,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE:GD opened at $243.02 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $65.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $259.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $282.53. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $239.87 and a twelve month high of $316.90. 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 (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. As a group, research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.64%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GD has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Baird R W downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $298.59.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

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.