Vest Financial LLC Acquires 17,115 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Vest Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 10.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 189,006 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,115 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC owned 0.07% of General Dynamics worth $49,801,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 2.3% during the third quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 1,482 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 22.8% during the 3rd quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 178 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in General Dynamics by 10.6% in the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 354 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC raised its position in General Dynamics by 1.6% during the third quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,223 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jeppson Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC now owns 955 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on GD. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $354.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Baird R W cut General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $300.06.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of GD opened at $254.84 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $247.01 and a 1-year high of $316.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.68, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $265.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $285.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

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 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.88 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were given a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.64%.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board 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.