Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. Makes New Investment in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,617 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $426,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GD. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of GD stock traded up $1.35 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $273.93. 1,470,248 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,317,575. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $239.87 and a 12-month high of $316.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The company's 50-day moving average price is $258.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $276.19.

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General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a boost 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.99%.

General Dynamics announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $244.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Barclays reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Wolfe Research downgraded General Dynamics from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $283.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, UBS Group decreased 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 note on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $297.71.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.52% of the company's stock.

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.