one8zero8 LLC Takes $751,000 Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

one8zero8 LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,850 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $751,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $522,000. Brandes Investment Partners LP grew its position in General Dynamics by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 51,635 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $13,605,000 after buying an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co grew its position in General Dynamics by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 7,049 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,857,000 after buying an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. United Capital Management of KS Inc. grew its position in General Dynamics by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. United Capital Management of KS Inc. now owns 20,026 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $5,277,000 after buying an additional 573 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. grew its position in General Dynamics by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. now owns 22,832 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $6,016,000 after buying an additional 1,063 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company's stock.

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General Dynamics Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE:GD traded down $2.41 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $265.56. 1,251,450 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,240,063. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.47, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 one year low of $239.87 and a one year high of $316.90. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $258.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $278.25.

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 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a positive change from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Dynamics news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was 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 directly owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the 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 owns 11,175 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. The trade was 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Baird R W cut General Dynamics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Wolfe Research cut General Dynamics from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup cut their target price on General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, BTIG Research cut General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $297.71.

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.