Primecap Management Co. CA Sells 118,690 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Primecap Management Co. CA lowered its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 14.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 679,750 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 118,690 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $179,107,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $267.51 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $258.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $278.32. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $239.87 and a 52 week high of $316.90. The company has a market capitalization of $72.32 billion, a PE ratio of 19.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. As a group, analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 43.99%.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase 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. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BTIG Research downgraded General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped 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 note on Thursday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total transaction of $7,499,895.82. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’s 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 sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.