Merit Financial Group LLC Acquires 1,641 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 23.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,653 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,641 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $2,280,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in General Dynamics by 241.7% during the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the third quarter valued at $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the third quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Coston McIsaac & Partners raised its position in General Dynamics by 22.8% during the third quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 178 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Trading Down 0.7 %

GD opened at $266.86 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $247.36 and a twelve month high of $316.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $272.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $288.19.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.48 by ($0.13). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 7.90%. The firm had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.04 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $330.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Vertical Research cut General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada cut General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $330.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Wolfe Research lowered General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, General Dynamics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.53.

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.