Crestwood Advisors Group LLC Increases Stock Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Crestwood Advisors Group LLC lifted its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,435 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $905,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in General Dynamics by 3.8% during the third quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC now owns 955 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $289,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. lifted its position in General Dynamics by 0.6% during the third quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 5,461 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,650,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. lifted its position in General Dynamics by 1.2% during the third quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 3,013 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $911,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its position in General Dynamics by 1.8% during the third quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 2,042 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $617,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Freedom Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in General Dynamics by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,344 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,313,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on GD shares. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Vertical Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada cut 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. The Goldman Sachs Group cut 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $298.59.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD stock opened at $249.83 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $67.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.61. The business’s 50 day moving average is $258.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $281.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. General Dynamics Co. has a 12-month low of $239.87 and a 12-month high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits 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 stock is undervalued.

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 issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 41.64%.

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.