Potentia Wealth Takes Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Potentia Wealth bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,608 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $424,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

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

General Dynamics Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of GD opened at $265.94 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $71.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $239.87 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37. The business has a 50-day moving average of $258.54 and a 200 day moving average of $277.45.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board 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. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is 43.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GD. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.