Keene & Associates Inc. Acquires 502 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Keene & Associates Inc. grew its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 12,281 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 502 shares during the period. General Dynamics accounts for about 2.6% of Keene & Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Keene & Associates Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $3,236,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in General Dynamics by 40,389.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,379,472 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $416,876,000 after buying an additional 1,376,065 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in General Dynamics by 9.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,307,612,000 after buying an additional 943,247 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in General Dynamics by 13.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,674,998,000 after buying an additional 638,342 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in General Dynamics by 117.0% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 858,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $259,469,000 after buying an additional 463,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its position in General Dynamics by 43.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 942,485 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $284,818,000 after buying an additional 283,972 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:GD opened at $242.46 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $65.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. General Dynamics Co. has a 12-month low of $239.87 and a 12-month high of $316.90. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $260.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $283.37.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its 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 return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. Analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were given a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.64%.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GD. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays reduced their target price on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wolfe Research downgraded General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $298.59.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.