Haven Private LLC Buys Shares of 2,659 General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Haven Private LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,659 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $701,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD opened at $264.66 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $71.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.40, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $239.87 and a 1 year high of $316.90. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $257.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $280.16.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.64%.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. William Blair downgraded General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Susquehanna decreased their price target on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $276.00 to $244.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Baird R W lowered shares of 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, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.71.

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.