General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Position Cut by Holderness Investments Co.

Holderness Investments Co. trimmed its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,001 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 305 shares during the quarter. Holderness Investments Co.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $791,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in GD. Berkeley Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Berkeley Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,799 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,001,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 120,884 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $31,852,000 after purchasing an additional 1,485 shares in the last quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 10,279 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,708,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. ProVise Management Group LLC boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. ProVise Management Group LLC now owns 30,865 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $8,133,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 4,512 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,183,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

General Dynamics Price Performance

GD opened at $265.56 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. General Dynamics Co. has a 12-month low of $239.87 and a 12-month high of $316.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $258.42 and a 200-day moving average of $278.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.47, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

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

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays decreased their price target on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Vertical Research downgraded General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price objective (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on 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. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $297.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total transaction of $7,499,895.82. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at $12,297,195.12. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.