Millstone Evans Group LLC Makes New $33,000 Investment in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 125 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GD. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

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

General Dynamics Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE GD opened at $265.94 on Tuesday. General Dynamics Co. has a 12-month low of $239.87 and a 12-month high of $316.90. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $258.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $277.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.90 billion, a PE ratio of 19.50, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted 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 net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. As a group, analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on GD shares. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. BTIG Research downgraded General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.