AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC Buys New Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,547 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $671,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GD. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of General Dynamics stock traded up $1.16 on Tuesday, reaching $273.74. 254,926 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,314,514. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.01 billion, a PE ratio of 20.05, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a 50 day moving average of $258.84 and a 200 day moving average of $276.41. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $239.87 and a 52 week high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 EPS 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 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This is an increase from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on GD. Susquehanna cut their target price on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. 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 report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. William Blair cut shares of General Dynamics from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Vertical Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.