General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Sold by Sabal Trust CO

Sabal Trust CO decreased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 105,089 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 2,317 shares during the quarter. General Dynamics comprises approximately 1.6% of Sabal Trust CO’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Sabal Trust CO’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $27,690,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp lifted its stake 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 worth $3,307,612,000 after purchasing an additional 943,247 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,674,998,000 after buying an additional 638,342 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its position in General Dynamics by 117.0% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 858,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $259,469,000 after acquiring an additional 463,000 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 43.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 942,485 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $284,818,000 after acquiring an additional 283,972 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in General Dynamics by 2.5% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,829,662 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,366,124,000 after acquiring an additional 189,904 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GD has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wolfe Research downgraded General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment 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, General Dynamics has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $298.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $249.83 on Wednesday. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $239.87 and a twelve month high of $316.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.32, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $258.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $281.88.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. Equities research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were given a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.64%.

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

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.