General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Sold by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

State of Alaska Department of Revenue lowered its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 35,481 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,785 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $9,348,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 241.7% during the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

GD stock opened at $255.41 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $247.01 and a 1 year high of $316.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.23 billion, a PE ratio of 18.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $265.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $286.09.

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

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

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on GD shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $279.00 to $276.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research lowered General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Vertical Research downgraded General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $300.06.

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.