Orca Wealth Management LLC Buys New Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Orca Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,394 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $894,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 40,389.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,379,472 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $416,876,000 after acquiring an additional 1,376,065 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 9.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,307,612,000 after purchasing an additional 943,247 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased 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 during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position 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 valued at $259,469,000 after purchasing an additional 463,000 shares during the last quarter. 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Vertical Research downgraded General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $354.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Baird R W downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $303.28.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. 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 insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

GD stock opened at $262.33 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $268.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $287.64. 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 12-month low of $257.26 and a 12-month high of $316.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.13 billion, a PE ratio of 19.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.61.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 43.26%.

General Dynamics declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase 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.