General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Purchased by Ellis Investment Partners LLC

Ellis Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,327 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. Ellis Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,404,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Coston McIsaac & Partners grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 22.8% during the third quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 178 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its position in General Dynamics by 2.3% during the third quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 1,482 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in General Dynamics by 1.6% during the third quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,223 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $672,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in General Dynamics by 3.8% during the third quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC now owns 955 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Community Bank N.A. boosted its position in General Dynamics by 0.6% during the third quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 5,461 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,650,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports 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 research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Baird R W downgraded General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 target price (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $298.59.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value 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 approximately $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

GD stock opened at $241.98 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $261.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $284.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $65.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a 52-week low of $239.87 and a 52-week high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.84 earnings per share for the current year.

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 paid 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 2.35%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 41.64%.

General Dynamics declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.