AlphaQuest LLC Makes New $1.80 Million Investment in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 6,825 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,798,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its position in General Dynamics by 9.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,307,612,000 after acquiring an additional 943,247 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at $197,238,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,674,998,000 after purchasing an additional 638,342 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in General Dynamics by 117.0% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 858,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $259,469,000 after buying an additional 463,000 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 43.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 942,485 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $284,818,000 after buying an additional 283,972 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Dynamics Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $271.82 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.93, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $239.87 and a twelve month high of $316.90. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $257.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $279.88.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is 41.64%.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on GD shares. Vertical Research downgraded General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Baird R W lowered General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $283.00 price target (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In related news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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.