Maripau Wealth Management LLC Buys New Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Maripau Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 770 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Dynamics Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:GD opened at $252.87 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $239.87 and a 1-year high of $316.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $258.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $281.09.

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

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is 41.64%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on GD shares. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective 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. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.71.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.52% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.