Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Has $500,000 Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 52.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,899 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 655 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $500,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Advocates Investment Management bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth about $215,000. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 17.6% during the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 1,803 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $549,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 38,694 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $11,779,000 after acquiring an additional 3,682 shares in the last quarter. BSW Wealth Partners bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth about $202,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 45,476 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $13,743,000 after acquiring an additional 6,352 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 target price (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. William Blair downgraded General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Vertical Research downgraded General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup decreased 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.71.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In related news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

General Dynamics Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of GD opened at $254.07 on Tuesday. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $239.87 and a 1 year high of $316.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $258.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $280.71. The stock has a market cap of $68.69 billion, a PE ratio of 18.63, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.61.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued 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 return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 41.64%.

General Dynamics announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan 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 plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.