Covington Investment Advisors Inc. Purchases 133 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Covington Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 7.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,949 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Covington Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $514,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GD. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,780,078 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,265,813,000 after acquiring an additional 706,317 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 0.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,205,330 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,292,851,000 after purchasing an additional 109,618 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 9.4% during 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 buying an additional 943,247 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 13.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,674,998,000 after buying an additional 638,342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,706,250 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $449,580,000 after buying an additional 59,944 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target 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. Susquehanna cut their price target on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Vertical Research cut General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $297.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Dynamics news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at $12,297,195.12. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % 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 Price Performance

GD stock opened at $269.60 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $258.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $277.17. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $239.87 and a 52 week high of $316.90. 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 (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. Analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.99%.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.