Empowered Funds LLC Purchases 1,283 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 15.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,689 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,283 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $2,553,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GD. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 9,469 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,495,000 after acquiring an additional 725 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Resource Group acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at $4,723,000. Hendershot Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Hendershot Investments Inc. now owns 38,556 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $10,159,000 after purchasing an additional 3,608 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,526 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,510,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mezzasalma Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 44.4% in the 4th quarter. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC now owns 2,313 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $609,000 after purchasing an additional 711 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Dynamics Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE GD traded down $4.18 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $241.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,762,958 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,659,087. The stock has a market cap of $66.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $239.87 and a one year high of $316.90. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $261.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $284.09.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

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 $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is 41.64%.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm's 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 in the company, valued at $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $283.00 target price (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $298.59.

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.