Allstate Corp bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 6,926 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $1,825,000.
Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 3,252 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $857,000 after acquiring an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,153 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,621,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 199,731 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $52,627,000 after buying an additional 624 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 6,248.3% in the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 3,682 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $970,000 after buying an additional 3,624 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covington Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in General Dynamics by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Covington Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,949 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $514,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company's 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 sale, the director now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total transaction of $7,499,895.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.52% of the company's stock.
General Dynamics Stock Up 0.5 %
Shares of GD stock traded up $1.35 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $273.93. 1,470,248 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,319,261. The business has a 50 day moving average of $258.84 and a two-hundred 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. The company has a market capitalization of $74.06 billion, a PE ratio of 20.08, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. Analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
General Dynamics declared that its board has authorized a share 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. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's management 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. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. This is an increase from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.99%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Baird R W lowered General Dynamics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on General Dynamics from $244.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $300.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $297.71.
View Our Latest Analysis on GD
About General Dynamics
(
Free Report)
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.
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