C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors Purchases New Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors purchased a new stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 26,242 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $6,915,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,689 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,553,000 after purchasing an additional 1,283 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 67.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,546 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,583,000 after purchasing an additional 3,448 shares during the period. Olstein Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 36.4% in the 3rd quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 15,000 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $4,533,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at $607,000. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 37,074 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $11,204,000 after purchasing an additional 3,363 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of General Dynamics 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 sale, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Baird R W lowered General Dynamics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wolfe Research lowered General Dynamics from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $279.00 to $276.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $298.59.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE GD traded down $3.19 during trading on Friday, hitting $243.02. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,947,405 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,735,765. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $259.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $282.54. The firm has a market cap of $65.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.61. 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 the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. Equities research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics's payout ratio is presently 41.64%.

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.