Kensington Investment Counsel LLC Grows Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Kensington Investment Counsel LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 9.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,050 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,402 shares during the quarter. General Dynamics comprises 1.8% of Kensington Investment Counsel LLC's holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $4,229,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on GD shares. TD Cowen cut their price target on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Susquehanna cut their price target on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. BTIG Research downgraded General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. William Blair downgraded General Dynamics from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics 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 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. 1.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GD traded down $2.40 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $263.30. The stock had a trading volume of 3,313,608 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,248,440. The firm has a market cap of $71.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.30, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. 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 fifty-two week low of $239.87 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $258.50 and a 200-day moving average of $277.91.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. Equities research analysts predict 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 $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This is a boost from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is 43.99%.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's management 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.