Persium Advisors LLC Buys New Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Persium Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 1,899 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $500,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,376,065 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,307,612,000 after purchasing an additional 943,247 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,674,998,000 after buying an additional 638,342 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in shares of 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, 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 2,189.3% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 374,207 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $108,572,000 after buying an additional 357,861 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

General Dynamics stock traded up $4.35 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $263.73. The company had a trading volume of 953,813 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,409,898. 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 firm has a market cap of $72.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.09, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50 day moving average of $276.54 and a 200-day moving average of $288.99.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by ($0.13). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 7.90%. The business had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.04 earnings per share. General Dynamics’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given 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 yield of 2.15%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.26%.

General Dynamics declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback 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 generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on GD. Royal Bank of Canada lowered General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $330.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $295.00 to $279.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Vertical Research lowered 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price target (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered General Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $283.00 to $245.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $308.18.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Dynamics news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

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.