Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Grows Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 138.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,699 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,149 shares during the quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,118,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in General Dynamics by 241.7% during the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in General Dynamics by 120.0% during the 2nd quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.05, for a total transaction of $406,626.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,106,515.60. The trade was a 26.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on GD. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday. Wolfe Research cut General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on General Dynamics from $309.00 to $306.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered General Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their target price for the company from $283.00 to $245.00 in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $331.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $317.38.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD stock opened at $263.11 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $72.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.04, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a 50 day moving average of $291.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $293.70. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $247.36 and a 52 week high of $316.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by ($0.13). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. The company had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.04 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.87 EPS for the current year.

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

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.26%.

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.