IFS Advisors LLC Purchases New Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

IFS Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 200 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GD. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 0.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,205,330 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,292,851,000 after buying an additional 109,618 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in 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 last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in 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 worth $2,366,124,000 after purchasing an additional 189,904 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,674,998,000 after buying an additional 638,342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,940,537 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,493,030,000 after buying an additional 24,464 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of GD stock opened at $265.89 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $73.11 billion, a PE ratio of 20.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $275.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $288.61. General Dynamics Co. has a 12 month low of $247.36 and a 12 month high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.04 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.81 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 43.26%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $295.00 to $279.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on General Dynamics from $330.00 to $315.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 target price (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $330.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

General Dynamics Company 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.