Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. Buys Shares of 180 General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 180 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GD. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, 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 at this link. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE GD opened at $263.30 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $258.50 and a 200-day moving average of $277.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $239.87 and a 52 week high of $316.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 target price (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Susquehanna cut their target price on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. William Blair downgraded General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.71.

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.