Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. Has $15.01 Million Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 56,964 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the quarter. General Dynamics accounts for about 1.3% of Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $15,009,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 0.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,205,330 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,292,851,000 after purchasing an additional 109,618 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 9.4% in 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 during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 2.5% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,829,662 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,366,124,000 after purchasing an additional 189,904 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 13.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,674,998,000 after acquiring an additional 638,342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 0.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,940,537 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,493,030,000 after acquiring an additional 24,464 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $244.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. One 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.71.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,297,195.12. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % 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 Price Performance

Shares of GD stock opened at $262.19 on Monday. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $239.87 and a twelve month high of $316.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $257.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $278.77. 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 (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. On average, analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.99%.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has initiated 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. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.