ProVise Management Group LLC Purchases 253 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

ProVise Management Group LLC grew its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,865 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. ProVise Management Group LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $8,133,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GD. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on GD shares. Vertical Research downgraded General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. BTIG Research downgraded General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target 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 equities 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.71.

General Dynamics Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:GD opened at $267.51 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $72.32 billion, a PE ratio of 19.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a 50 day moving average of $258.20 and a 200-day moving average of $278.32. 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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 43.99%.

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

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,297,195.12. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.