General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Bought by Level Four Advisory Services LLC

Level Four Advisory Services LLC grew its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,153 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,621,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. United Bank increased its stake in General Dynamics by 4.0% in the third 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 period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,470,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in General Dynamics by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 57,899 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $17,497,000 after acquiring an additional 4,024 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 666,544 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $201,430,000 after purchasing an additional 29,223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 183.8% in the third quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 5,690 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,720,000 after purchasing an additional 3,685 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

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

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD opened at $268.99 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a 12-month low of $239.87 and a 12-month high of $316.90. The stock has a market cap of $72.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.72, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $258.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $276.76.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. As a group, research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on GD. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. William Blair lowered shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $244.00 to $261.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $283.00 price target (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, General Dynamics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $297.71.

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.