Professional Advisory Services Inc. Acquires 4,211 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Professional Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 78,209 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,211 shares during the period. General Dynamics comprises about 2.8% of Professional Advisory Services Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Professional Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $20,607,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GD. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in General Dynamics by 241.7% during the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the third quarter worth $26,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the third quarter worth $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Coston McIsaac & Partners boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 178 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

General Dynamics stock traded down $1.97 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $266.86. The company had a trading volume of 1,543,957 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,419,689. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $272.86 and a 200 day moving average of $288.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $73.38 billion, a PE ratio of 20.32, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $247.36 and a one year high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.48 by ($0.13). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. The firm had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.04 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.81 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.26%.

General Dynamics declared that its board has initiated a share 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 reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays reduced their price target on General Dynamics from $330.00 to $305.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $330.00 to $315.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Robert W. Baird reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $283.00 price target (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $283.00 to $245.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, TD Cowen raised General Dynamics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $304.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

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.