Chesapeake Wealth Management Has $979,000 Stock Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Chesapeake Wealth Management reduced its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,717 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 95 shares during the quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $979,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GD. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in General Dynamics by 40,389.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,379,472 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $416,876,000 after buying an additional 1,376,065 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 9.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,307,612,000 after purchasing an additional 943,247 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 13.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,674,998,000 after purchasing an additional 638,342 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 117.0% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 858,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $259,469,000 after purchasing an additional 463,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 2,189.3% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 374,207 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $108,572,000 after purchasing an additional 357,861 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD opened at $266.86 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $73.38 billion, a PE ratio of 20.32, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $272.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $288.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.80. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $247.36 and a 1 year high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released 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 net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. The company had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.04 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.81 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 43.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on GD shares. Wolfe Research downgraded General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on General Dynamics from $295.00 to $279.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 price target (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays cut their price objective on General Dynamics from $330.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $304.53.

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.