Pathway Financial Advisers LLC Acquires 65 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,115 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,348,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avestar Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 2,958 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $779,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors bought a new position in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,915,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 39,138 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $10,313,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares during the period. Jmac Enterprises LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 48.8% in the 4th quarter. Jmac Enterprises LLC now owns 1,637 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 3,634 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $958,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on GD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group cut their price target on General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $279.00 to $276.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price target (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $298.59.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD stock opened at $251.26 on Thursday. 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 company has a market cap of $69.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $247.01 and a one year high of $316.90. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $263.13 and a 200-day moving average of $284.85.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were paid a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 41.64%.

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

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About General Dynamics

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.