HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Reduces Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC lowered its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 6.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,872 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 391 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,511,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $272.71 on Tuesday. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $239.87 and a 1-year high of $316.90. The company has a market capitalization of $73.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.99, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $258.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $276.41. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. As a group, research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at $12,297,195.12. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. UBS Group lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.71.

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.