Allstate Corp Makes New $1.83 Million Investment in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Allstate Corp acquired a new stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 6,926 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,825,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $283.00 price objective (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $297.71.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of GD opened at $268.99 on Friday. 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 market capitalization of $72.72 billion, a PE ratio of 19.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $258.73 and its 200-day moving average is $276.76. General Dynamics Co. has a 12 month low of $239.87 and a 12 month high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. Equities research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.99%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % 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 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.