Meriwether Wealth & Planning LLC Buys Shares of 3,026 General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Meriwether Wealth & Planning LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,026 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $797,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at about $327,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in General Dynamics by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 32,020 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $8,437,000 after purchasing an additional 2,463 shares in the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY raised its position in General Dynamics by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 17,392 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,583,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC raised its position in General Dynamics by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 13,224 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,484,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,798,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued 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. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup dropped their price target on General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.71.

Insider Activity

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,224. This trade represents 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. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GD opened at $271.82 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $257.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $279.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market cap of $73.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.93, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $239.87 and a 1 year high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released 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%. Research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.99%.

General Dynamics declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.