Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Increases Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,577,075 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 39,926 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.57% of General Dynamics worth $415,543,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

GD opened at $262.94 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $257.73 and its 200 day moving average is $280.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market cap of $71.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.28, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. General Dynamics Co. has a 12-month low of $239.87 and a 12-month high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.64%.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on GD. UBS Group dropped their target price on General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. BTIG Research downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird reissued 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.71.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were 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 directly owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.