Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC Makes New $96,000 Investment in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 363 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $96,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,689 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,553,000 after purchasing an additional 1,283 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 67.6% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,546 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,583,000 after acquiring an additional 3,448 shares during the last quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 36.4% during the third quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 15,000 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,533,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $607,000. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 10.0% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 37,074 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $11,204,000 after acquiring an additional 3,363 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on GD shares. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. BTIG Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $298.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other 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 value of $459,201.28. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the company’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 transaction, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at $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 Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GD opened at $242.46 on Wednesday. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $239.87 and a twelve month high of $316.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market capitalization of $66.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.78, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $261.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $283.72.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 14.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were paid a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.64%.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.