Interchange Capital Partners LLC Boosts Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Interchange Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 10.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 819 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Interchange Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $215,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,689 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,553,000 after buying an additional 1,283 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $607,000. Hickory Point Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth $692,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 69.1% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 261,992 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $69,032,000 after purchasing an additional 107,095 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $550,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 GD stock opened at $265.94 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $71.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.50, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $258.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $277.45. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $239.87 and a one year high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 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%. Sell-side 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 approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Vertical Research downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 target price (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BTIG Research cut General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.