Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Purchases 4,214 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 55.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,849 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,214 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $3,122,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GD. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 241.7% during the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the 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 sale, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Vertical Research cut General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup cut their price objective on General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 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. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $298.59.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

General Dynamics stock opened at $241.98 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.74, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $261.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $284.09. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $239.87 and a 52 week high of $316.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. Equities research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.84 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program 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. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were given a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.64%.

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.