Empire Financial Management Company LLC Raises Stock Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Empire Financial Management Company LLC grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 107.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,695 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,912 shares during the quarter. Empire Financial Management Company LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,117,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Diversified Trust Co raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 34.4% in the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 2,020 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $586,000 after acquiring an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 4,260.9% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 3,009 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $867,000 after purchasing an additional 2,940 shares in the last quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 281.4% during the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 267 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,613 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,628,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the period. Finally, Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted its position in General Dynamics by 9.1% during the 2nd quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 3,055 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $883,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of GD opened at $270.46 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $294.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $294.60. The firm has a market cap of $74.37 billion, a PE ratio of 20.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $247.36 and a 1-year high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.65 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.04 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.87 EPS for the current year.

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

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.05, for a total transaction of $406,626.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,106,515.60. This represents a 26.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $333.00 to $352.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays raised their price objective on General Dynamics from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Citigroup raised their price target on General Dynamics from $331.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.69.

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.