Wedmont Private Capital Increases Stock Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Wedmont Private Capital increased its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,398 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 142 shares during the quarter. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $622,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 40,389.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,379,472 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $416,876,000 after acquiring an additional 1,376,065 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 9.4% in 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,674,998,000 after buying an additional 638,342 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 117.0% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 858,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $259,469,000 after buying an additional 463,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 2,189.3% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 374,207 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $108,572,000 after buying an additional 357,861 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of GD stock opened at $264.92 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $275.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $288.61. General Dynamics Co. has a 52-week low of $247.36 and a 52-week high of $316.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.65 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.04 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.84 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on GD shares. Wolfe Research cut shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded General Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $283.00 to $245.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $330.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup increased their target price on General Dynamics from $331.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $304.53.

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.