WESPAC Advisors SoCal LLC Raises Stock Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

WESPAC Advisors SoCal LLC raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 10.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 21,196 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,076 shares during the period. General Dynamics makes up 1.3% of WESPAC Advisors SoCal LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. WESPAC Advisors SoCal LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $5,585,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Rockline Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Rockline Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,473 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,340,000 after acquiring an additional 761 shares during the last quarter. Columbus Macro LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 54.6% in the 4th quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 7,023 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,851,000 after acquiring an additional 2,479 shares during the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 767 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $202,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, Catalina Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $296,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $256.80 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company has a 50-day moving average of $267.05 and a 200 day moving average of $286.76. The firm has a market cap of $70.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.83, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $247.01 and a 1 year high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 41.64%.

General Dynamics announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 price target (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $301.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Dynamics news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.