Columbus Macro LLC Buys 2,479 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Columbus Macro LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 54.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 7,023 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 2,479 shares during the period. Columbus Macro LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,851,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in General Dynamics by 241.7% during the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

General Dynamics stock opened at $256.80 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $267.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $286.76. The stock has a market cap of $70.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $247.01 and a 1 year high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.88 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given 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 yield of 2.21%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.64%.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on GD. Citigroup lifted their price objective on General Dynamics from $354.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $279.00 to $276.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $301.24.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the sale, the vice president now 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.