General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Purchased by Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. grew its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 43.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,571 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,083 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $941,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GD. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC now owns 955 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 0.6% during the third quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 5,461 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,650,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 0.9% in the third quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,344 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,313,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Purus Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Purus Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,660 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $701,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in General Dynamics by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,450 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,554,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GD has been the subject of several research reports. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on General Dynamics from $244.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Baird R W cut General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $297.71.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of GD opened at $271.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $239.87 and a 1-year high of $316.90. The stock has a market cap of $73.49 billion, a PE ratio of 19.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $257.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $279.99.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its 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 net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.64%.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.