Entropy Technologies LP Grows Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Entropy Technologies LP lifted its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 772.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,212 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 22,323 shares during the quarter. General Dynamics makes up about 0.7% of Entropy Technologies LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Entropy Technologies LP’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $6,643,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 67.6% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,546 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,583,000 after acquiring an additional 3,448 shares during the period. Olstein Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 36.4% in the third quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 15,000 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,533,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 10.0% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 37,074 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $11,204,000 after purchasing an additional 3,363 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 69.1% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 261,992 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $69,032,000 after purchasing an additional 107,095 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lummis Asset Management LP grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 32.6% in the third quarter. Lummis Asset Management LP now owns 10,368 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,133,000 after purchasing an additional 2,551 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wolfe Research cut shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 target price (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, General Dynamics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $300.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

General Dynamics Price Performance

General Dynamics stock opened at $254.84 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a 52-week low of $247.01 and a 52-week high of $316.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.68, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $264.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $285.62. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were given a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 41.64%.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics 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.