Millstone Evans Group LLC Takes $33,000 Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 125 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GD. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 9.4% during the 3rd 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. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $197,238,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in General Dynamics by 13.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,674,998,000 after buying an additional 638,342 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 117.0% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 43.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 942,485 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $284,818,000 after acquiring an additional 283,972 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at $12,297,195.12. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE GD opened at $265.94 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.50, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $239.87 and a one year high of $316.90. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $258.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $277.45.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released 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%. As a group, analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 43.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Baird R W cut shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $244.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, William Blair downgraded General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, General Dynamics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $297.71.

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.