InTrack Investment Management Inc Invests $546,000 in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

InTrack Investment Management Inc acquired a new stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 2,060 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $546,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 bought a new position in General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Coston McIsaac & Partners increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 22.8% in the third quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 178 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Dynamics Price Performance

GD opened at $266.86 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $247.36 and a 1 year high of $316.90. 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 $73.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $273.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $288.32.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by ($0.13). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 7.90%. The firm had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.04 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan 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 plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.26%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on GD shares. Barclays reduced their target price on General Dynamics from $330.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $283.00 to $245.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Vertical Research downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $330.00 to $315.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, General Dynamics presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $304.53.

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.