Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. Acquires 1,063 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,832 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,063 shares during the period. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc.'s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $6,016,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GD. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 9.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $3,307,612,000 after buying an additional 943,247 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth about $197,238,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 13.0% in 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 buying an additional 638,342 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 117.0% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 858,600 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $259,469,000 after buying an additional 463,000 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 43.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 942,485 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $284,818,000 after buying an additional 283,972 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of GD traded up $0.59 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $268.11. 1,495,915 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,238,310. 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 52-week low of $239.87 and a 52-week high of $316.90. The company's 50-day moving average price is $258.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $278.32. The company has a market cap of $72.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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, 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 paid 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 dividend yield of 2.24%. General Dynamics's payout ratio is 43.99%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on GD. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and issued a $300.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Vertical Research downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Baird R W downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $297.71.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of General Dynamics 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 sale, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of General Dynamics 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.