Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Sells 600 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,900 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 600 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $3,663,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 0.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,205,330 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,292,851,000 after acquiring an additional 109,618 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 9.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,307,612,000 after acquiring an additional 943,247 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 2.5% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,829,662 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,366,124,000 after acquiring an additional 189,904 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 13.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,674,998,000 after acquiring an additional 638,342 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 0.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,940,537 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,493,030,000 after acquiring an additional 24,464 shares during the period. 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 shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the sale, the vice president now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE:GD opened at $251.26 on Thursday. General Dynamics Co. has a 12-month low of $247.01 and a 12-month high of $316.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.09 billion, a PE ratio of 18.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $263.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $285.08.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. Research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 41.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on GD shares. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $298.59.

General Dynamics 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.