General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 403,836 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 371 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.15% of General Dynamics worth $106,407,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GD. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 241.7% in the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE GD opened at $243.95 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $65.95 billion, a PE ratio of 17.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $260.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $283.10. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $239.87 and a 1-year high of $316.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

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 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were given a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.64%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on GD shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 target price (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Vertical Research downgraded General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $298.59.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value 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 approximately $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% 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.