ICW Investment Advisors LLC Purchases 43 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

ICW Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,491 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. ICW Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $2,237,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 148.6% during the 4th quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 28,872 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $7,607,000 after acquiring an additional 17,257 shares in the last quarter. Twin City Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Twin City Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,460 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $648,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $589,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,780,078 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,265,813,000 after purchasing an additional 706,317 shares during the period. Finally, Community Bank N.A. raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 5,561 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,465,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.9 %

GD stock opened at $263.30 on Monday. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $239.87 and a twelve month 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.18 billion, a PE ratio of 19.30, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $258.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $277.67.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. On average, equities analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics announced that its board has authorized 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 buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 43.99%.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In related news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the business’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 value of $459,201.28. Following the completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,297,195.12. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. BTIG Research cut General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. William Blair cut General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup lowered their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price 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. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $297.71.

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.