Procyon Advisors LLC Increases Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,677 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $2,023,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.7 %

GD stock opened at $266.86 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $247.36 and a 52 week high of $316.90. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $273.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $288.32. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.65 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. General Dynamics’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.04 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.26%.

Insider Activity

In other General Dynamics news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on GD shares. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 target price (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday. TD Cowen upgraded General Dynamics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Seaport Res Ptn cut General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada downgraded General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $330.00 to $290.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.53.

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.