Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 155,891 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned 0.06% of General Dynamics worth $41,076,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,689 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,553,000 after buying an additional 1,283 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 67.6% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,546 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,583,000 after acquiring an additional 3,448 shares during the period. Olstein Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in General Dynamics by 36.4% in the third quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 15,000 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,533,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $607,000. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 37,074 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $11,204,000 after purchasing an additional 3,363 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on GD shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. BTIG Research lowered General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 target price (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $298.59.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GD opened at $249.83 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $258.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $281.88. General Dynamics Co. has a 52-week low of $239.87 and a 52-week high of $316.90. The company has a market cap of $67.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.61. 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 posted its 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 return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. As a group, analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.64%.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share 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 generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.