Laura J. Schumacher Sells 1,796 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Stock

General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm’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 sale, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.4 %

GD opened at $258.36 on Thursday. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $266.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $286.28. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $247.01 and a 52 week high of $316.90. The stock has a market cap of $71.04 billion, a PE ratio of 18.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.61.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program 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. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on GD shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Vertical Research downgraded 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $354.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given 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 $300.06.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Dynamics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GD. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in General Dynamics by 35.8% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 163 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in General Dynamics by 52.7% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,899 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $500,000 after purchasing an additional 655 shares during the period. Maia Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 33.8% during the 4th quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 1,025 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hickory Point Bank & Trust purchased a new position in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $692,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

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.