General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Sold by Sachetta LLC

Sachetta LLC trimmed its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,241 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 103 shares during the quarter. Sachetta LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $327,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 67.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,546 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,583,000 after purchasing an additional 3,448 shares in the last quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 36.4% during the third quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 15,000 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,533,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 37,074 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $11,204,000 after acquiring an additional 3,363 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 69.1% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 261,992 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $69,032,000 after acquiring an additional 107,095 shares during the period. Finally, Lummis Asset Management LP grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 32.6% during the 3rd quarter. Lummis Asset Management LP now owns 10,368 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,133,000 after acquiring an additional 2,551 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE:GD opened at $266.22 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $269.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $287.74. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $257.26 and a one year high of $316.90. The company has a market cap of $73.20 billion, a PE ratio of 20.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by ($0.13). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 7.90%. The business had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.04 earnings per share. General Dynamics’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.66 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 43.26%.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Vertical Research downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. TD Cowen upgraded General Dynamics to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on General Dynamics from $330.00 to $315.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

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.