Fermata Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Fermata Advisors LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,481 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $390,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 67.6% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,546 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,583,000 after acquiring an additional 3,448 shares in the last quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 36.4% during the third quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 15,000 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $4,533,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 37,074 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $11,204,000 after buying an additional 3,363 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 69.1% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 261,992 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $69,032,000 after buying an additional 107,095 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lummis Asset Management LP increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 32.6% in the 3rd quarter. Lummis Asset Management LP now owns 10,368 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $3,133,000 after buying an additional 2,551 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GD traded down $1.97 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $266.86. 1,543,957 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,419,689. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $247.36 and a twelve month high of $316.90. The firm has a market cap of $73.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.32, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.61. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $273.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $288.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.48 by ($0.13). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. The company had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.04 EPS. General Dynamics's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.81 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders 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 of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is 43.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GD has been the topic of several research reports. TD Cowen raised General Dynamics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $295.00 to $279.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Baird R W downgraded General Dynamics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded General Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and cut their target price for the company from $283.00 to $245.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $304.53.

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.