Essex LLC Has $3.41 Million Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Essex LLC decreased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 12,929 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 461 shares during the period. Essex LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $3,407,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 67.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,546 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,583,000 after acquiring an additional 3,448 shares during the period. Olstein Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 36.4% during the 3rd quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 15,000 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,533,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its stake in General Dynamics by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 37,074 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $11,204,000 after buying an additional 3,363 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 69.1% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 261,992 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $69,032,000 after acquiring an additional 107,095 shares during the period. Finally, Lummis Asset Management LP lifted its position in General Dynamics by 32.6% during the third quarter. Lummis Asset Management LP now owns 10,368 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,133,000 after acquiring an additional 2,551 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Baird R W downgraded General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Vertical Research lowered General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $300.06.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

General Dynamics Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of GD stock opened at $254.84 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $247.01 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $264.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $285.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37. The company has a market cap of $70.07 billion, a PE ratio of 18.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.61.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released 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 net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. Equities analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were given a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is 41.64%.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership 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.