General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Bought by Cooper Financial Group

Cooper Financial Group increased its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 10.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,259 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the quarter. Cooper Financial Group’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $332,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 67.6% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,546 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,583,000 after acquiring an additional 3,448 shares during the period. Olstein Capital Management L.P. grew its position in General Dynamics by 36.4% during the 3rd quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 15,000 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,533,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its stake in General Dynamics by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 37,074 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $11,204,000 after purchasing an additional 3,363 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 69.1% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 261,992 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $69,032,000 after purchasing an additional 107,095 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lummis Asset Management LP boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 32.6% in the third quarter. Lummis Asset Management LP now owns 10,368 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,133,000 after buying an additional 2,551 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $264.92 on Wednesday. General Dynamics Co. has a 12-month low of $247.36 and a 12-month high of $316.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.18, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $275.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $288.61.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.65 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 7.90%. General Dynamics’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.04 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.84 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.26%.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on General Dynamics from $331.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $283.00 to $245.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $330.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $304.53.

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.