Congress Asset Management Co. Buys Shares of 4,624 General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Congress Asset Management Co. purchased a new position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 4,624 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $1,218,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 0.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,205,330 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $4,292,851,000 after acquiring an additional 109,618 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 9.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $3,307,612,000 after purchasing an additional 943,247 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 2.5% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,829,662 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,366,124,000 after purchasing an additional 189,904 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 13.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,674,998,000 after purchasing an additional 638,342 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 0.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,940,537 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,493,030,000 after purchasing an additional 24,464 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of General Dynamics stock traded down $3.19 on Friday, reaching $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 market capitalization of $65.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.82, a PEG 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. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $259.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $282.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

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%. Analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were given 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 41.64%.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on GD. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. BTIG Research downgraded General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Baird R W downgraded General Dynamics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $298.59.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

General Dynamics Company 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.