General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Purchased by Ellis Investment Partners LLC

Ellis Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,327 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Ellis Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,404,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in General Dynamics by 241.7% during the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GD. Wolfe Research cut shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $298.59.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of GD opened at $241.98 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $239.87 and a twelve month high of $316.90. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $261.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $284.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.74, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.61. 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 announced 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 net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. Equities analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were given a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.64%.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.52% 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.