Insider Selling: General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Director Sells $459,201.28 in 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 transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD opened at $255.41 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $247.01 and a 52 week high of $316.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $265.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $286.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on General Dynamics from $279.00 to $276.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective 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. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $300.06.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Dynamics

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 43.5% during the fourth quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 3,571 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $941,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its stake in General Dynamics by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,178 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $182,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth $197,238,000. Finally, First Business Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 53.3% in the 4th quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. now owns 9,574 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,523,000 after buying an additional 3,330 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Company 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.