New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Raises Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 6,248.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,682 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 3,624 shares during the quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $970,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total transaction of $7,499,895.82. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88 % 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 insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GD has been the subject of several research reports. BTIG Research lowered General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $244.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Baird R W downgraded General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.71.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

General Dynamics stock opened at $272.71 on Tuesday. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $239.87 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90. The stock has a market cap of $73.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.99, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $258.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $276.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued 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 return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. As a group, analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.99%.

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.