General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Sold by Renaissance Investment Group LLC

Renaissance Investment Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,099 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 383 shares during the period. Renaissance Investment Group LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $6,613,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 40,389.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,379,472 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $416,876,000 after acquiring an additional 1,376,065 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 9.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,307,612,000 after buying an additional 943,247 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,674,998,000 after acquiring an additional 638,342 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 117.0% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 858,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $259,469,000 after purchasing an additional 463,000 shares during the period. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 2,189.3% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 374,207 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $108,572,000 after buying an additional 357,861 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Barclays dropped their price objective on General Dynamics from $330.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $330.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $331.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $330.00 to $315.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, General Dynamics has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:GD opened at $266.86 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $272.86 and its 200-day moving average is $288.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.32. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $247.36 and a 52 week high of $316.90. The company has a market capitalization of $73.38 billion, a PE ratio of 20.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.61.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.65 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. General Dynamics’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.04 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 43.26%.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.