Ballentine Partners LLC Sells 174 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Ballentine Partners LLC trimmed its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,165 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 174 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $834,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GD. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its position in General Dynamics by 2.3% during the third quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 1,482 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $448,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Coston McIsaac & Partners boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 178 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in General Dynamics by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 354 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 1.6% during the third quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,223 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $672,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jeppson Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 3.8% in the third quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC now owns 955 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $289,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of GD stock opened at $268.62 on Thursday. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $247.88 and a 1-year high of $316.90. The firm has a market cap of $73.86 billion, a PE ratio of 20.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50-day moving average of $271.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $288.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.48 by ($0.13). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. The company had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.04 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.73 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the company’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 transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Baird R W cut shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Vertical Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $295.00 to $279.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on General Dynamics from $354.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.88.

About General Dynamics

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.