First Business Financial Services Inc. Has $2.52 Million Stock Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

First Business Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 53.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,574 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,330 shares during the period. First Business Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $2,523,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GD. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 10.5% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 38,694 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $11,779,000 after acquiring an additional 3,682 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 45,476 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $13,743,000 after acquiring an additional 6,352 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $73,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,473 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $5,885,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the period. Finally, United Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $239,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

General Dynamics stock opened at $262.94 on Thursday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $257.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $280.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market cap of $71.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $239.87 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. On average, equities research analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. This is a boost from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.64%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GD. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Baird R W cut shares of General Dynamics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $296.71.

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.

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