Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Trims Stock Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 875,899 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 16,376 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $230,791,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. United Bank lifted its position in General Dynamics by 4.0% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 5,776 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,746,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 116.8% in the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 37,001 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $10,298,000 after acquiring an additional 19,932 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 18,251 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,516,000 after acquiring an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 79.1% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 155,953 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $47,129,000 after purchasing an additional 68,896 shares during the period. Finally, Kensington Investment Counsel LLC increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC now owns 14,648 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,427,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD opened at $249.94 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $67.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43. General Dynamics Co. has a 52-week low of $239.87 and a 52-week 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $258.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $275.35.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. Research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 43.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’s 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at $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. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on GD. Baird R W cut General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays decreased their target price on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. BTIG Research downgraded General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Vertical Research cut shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $298.59.

General Dynamics Company 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.