General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Sold by Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc.

Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. lessened its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,632 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 189 shares during the period. General Dynamics comprises approximately 1.9% of Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $2,011,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on General Dynamics from $244.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Baird R W lowered General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. William Blair lowered shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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 note on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $297.71.

General Dynamics Price Performance

General Dynamics stock opened at $267.61 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37. The company has a market capitalization of $72.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $258.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $277.27. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $239.87 and a 1 year high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 EPS 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, equities research analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.99%.

General Dynamics announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at $12,297,195.12. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.52% 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.