Kennondale Capital Management LLC Buys New Shares in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Kennondale Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 4,280 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $1,128,000. General Dynamics makes up approximately 0.9% of Kennondale Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in GD. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $300.00 price objective (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Baird R W downgraded General Dynamics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $297.71.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly 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. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:GD traded down $2.40 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $263.30. 3,313,608 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,248,440. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37. General Dynamics Co. has a 52-week low of $239.87 and a 52-week high of $316.90. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $258.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $277.91. The company has a market capitalization of $71.18 billion, a PE ratio of 19.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. As a group, research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.28%. This is an increase from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.99%.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock 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. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

About General Dynamics

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.