Madison Investment Advisors LLC Acquires New Shares in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 2,642 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $696,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GD. United Bank lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 5,776 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,746,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,039,000. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in General Dynamics by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 13,014 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,933,000 after acquiring an additional 2,452 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in General Dynamics by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 441,544 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $133,435,000 after acquiring an additional 19,811 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in General Dynamics by 35.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 32,674 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $9,874,000 after acquiring an additional 8,612 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’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 transaction of $459,201.28. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,224. The trade was 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on GD shares. UBS Group cut 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. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 target price (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. BTIG Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $297.71.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $263.30 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $71.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $239.87 and a 1-year high of $316.90. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $258.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $277.79.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

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

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.