Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. Increases Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. raised its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,403 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $370,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Planning raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 45,042 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $13,068,000 after acquiring an additional 1,988 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 19.5% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 38,038 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $11,036,000 after acquiring an additional 6,205 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 85.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 283 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 2nd quarter worth $290,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 36.2% during the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,740 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,147,000 after acquiring an additional 4,711 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on GD shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on General Dynamics from $295.00 to $279.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded General Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price objective 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 cut their price objective for the stock from $330.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on General Dynamics from $354.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $304.88.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $269.64 on Tuesday. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $257.26 and a one year high of $316.90. The company has a market cap of $74.14 billion, a PE ratio of 20.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.61. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $269.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $287.74.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.26%.

General Dynamics announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.