IFS Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 200 General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

IFS Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 200 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of GD. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 4,685 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,359,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 4.2% in the second quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,664 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,804,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance boosted its position in General Dynamics by 17.4% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 1,206 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $350,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Argent Trust Co raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 15,789 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,581,000 after acquiring an additional 548 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 7,975 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,314,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD opened at $265.89 on Thursday. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $247.36 and a 52 week high of $316.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $73.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.25, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $275.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $288.61.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.48 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.65 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 7.90%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.04 EPS. On average, analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.81 EPS for the current year.

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

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded General Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $283.00 to $245.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 price objective (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup boosted their price target on General Dynamics from $331.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Baird R W lowered General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $304.53.

General Dynamics Company 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.