General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Sold by Polaris Capital Management LLC

Polaris Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 133,564 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 3,800 shares during the quarter. General Dynamics makes up approximately 1.7% of Polaris Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Polaris Capital Management LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $35,193,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GD. Coston McIsaac & Partners lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 178 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 2.3% in the third quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 1,482 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $448,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust grew its stake in General Dynamics by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 354 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 1.6% during the third quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,223 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $672,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jeppson Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC now owns 955 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the firm’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 transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were 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 $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wolfe Research downgraded General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $279.00 to $276.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $298.59.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $256.17 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.78, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.61. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $247.01 and a 1-year high of $316.90. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $264.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $285.57.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.84 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 2.22%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is 41.64%.

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.