SlateStone Wealth LLC Purchases New Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

SlateStone Wealth LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 787 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GD. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,360,526 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,615,185,000 after acquiring an additional 1,755,276 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in General Dynamics by 10,763.2% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 923,593 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $239,829,000 after acquiring an additional 915,091 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 55.2% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 806,917 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $178,304,000 after buying an additional 286,928 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,293,269 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $506,744,000 after acquiring an additional 275,947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,763,878 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $392,110,000 after buying an additional 198,185 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Dynamics Stock Down 5.1 %

NYSE:GD traded down $14.88 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $277.84. 860,697 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,062,380. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a market cap of $76.23 billion, a PE ratio of 24.13, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.68. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $280.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $261.08. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $202.35 and a one year high of $296.50.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.68 by ($0.04). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.61% and a net margin of 7.84%. The company had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.58 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.56 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GD has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays upped their target price on General Dynamics from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $283.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $286.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $291.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,355 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.31, for a total transaction of $8,551,750.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 773,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,569,860.87. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Mark C. Roualet sold 73,330 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.75, for a total transaction of $19,414,117.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 149,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,502,023.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,355 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.31, for a total transaction of $8,551,750.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 773,977 shares in the company, valued at $204,569,860.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

General Dynamics 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.