Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. Acquires 1,279 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 48.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,910 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,279 shares during the period. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,030,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $416,876,000 after purchasing an additional 1,376,065 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,307,612,000 after purchasing an additional 943,247 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 638,342 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 117.0% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 43.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 942,485 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $284,818,000 after purchasing an additional 283,972 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was 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 directly owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

General Dynamics Trading Down 0.1 %

General Dynamics stock opened at $256.80 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $267.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $286.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $247.01 and a 52 week high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued 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%. Research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.88 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on GD. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Barclays reduced 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. Susquehanna cut their price target on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $300.06.

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.