Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Purchases 4,214 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund boosted its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 55.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,849 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,214 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $3,122,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $6,915,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 27,032 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $7,123,000 after buying an additional 1,800 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 74,961 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $19,752,000 after buying an additional 2,077 shares during the period. Finally, Citizens & Northern Corp lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Citizens & Northern Corp now owns 7,825 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,062,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of General Dynamics stock traded down $3.19 during trading on Friday, reaching $243.02. 1,947,405 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,735,765. The company has a market capitalization of $65.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $259.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $282.54. 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 52-week low of $239.87 and a 52-week high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were given a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. General Dynamics's payout ratio is 41.64%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on GD shares. UBS Group lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. BTIG Research lowered General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, 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 research note on Thursday, December 12th. One investment 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $298.59.

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.