General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Acquired by Independent Advisor Alliance

Independent Advisor Alliance raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,328 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 955 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $6,410,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Activity

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of GD stock opened at $271.92 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $257.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $279.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $73.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.94, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $239.87 and a twelve month high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 43.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GD. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 target price (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Vertical Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.71.

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.