Board of the Pension Protection Fund Buys Shares of 900 General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 900 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $237,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in General Dynamics by 241.7% during the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the third quarter worth $26,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the third quarter worth $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Coston McIsaac & Partners grew its stake in General Dynamics by 22.8% during the 3rd quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 178 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen upgraded General Dynamics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of General Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $283.00 to $245.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $304.53.

General Dynamics Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:GD opened at $265.89 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. General Dynamics Co. has a 12-month low of $247.36 and a 12-month high of $316.90. The business has a 50 day moving average of $275.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $288.61. The company has a market capitalization of $73.11 billion, a PE ratio of 20.25, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.48 by ($0.13). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. The firm had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.04 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.84 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.26%.

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.