Hendershot Investments Inc. Boosts Stock Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Hendershot Investments Inc. raised its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 10.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,556 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,608 shares during the quarter. General Dynamics accounts for 1.4% of Hendershot Investments Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Hendershot Investments Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $10,159,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 40,389.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,379,472 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $416,876,000 after purchasing an additional 1,376,065 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 943,247 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 13.0% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 463,000 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in General Dynamics by 43.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 942,485 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $284,818,000 after acquiring an additional 283,972 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Baird R W downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $300.06.

General Dynamics Price Performance

NYSE:GD opened at $254.84 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a 12-month low of $247.01 and a 12-month high of $316.90. The firm has a market cap of $70.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s 50-day moving average is $264.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $285.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced 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 net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. Research analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.84 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.64%.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is 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 dated 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

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.