Goldstone Financial Group LLC Takes $208,000 Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Goldstone Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 789 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 241.7% in the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Coston McIsaac & Partners increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 22.8% during the 3rd quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 178 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of GD opened at $266.86 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $247.36 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90. The company’s fifty day moving average is $273.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $288.32. The firm has a market cap of $73.38 billion, a PE ratio of 20.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.65 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. General Dynamics’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.04 EPS. Analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.81 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.26%.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on GD. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada cut General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $330.00 to $290.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 price objective (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 target price (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $304.53.

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.