Matisse Capital Sells 145 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Matisse Capital reduced its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 12.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,000 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 145 shares during the period. Matisse Capital’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $263,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GD. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 67.6% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,546 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,583,000 after acquiring an additional 3,448 shares during the last quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake 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 valued at $4,533,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 10.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 69.1% during 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 buying an additional 107,095 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lummis Asset Management LP lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 32.6% during the 3rd quarter. Lummis Asset Management LP now owns 10,368 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,133,000 after buying an additional 2,551 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $256.80 on Tuesday. 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 50-day simple moving average of $267.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $286.76. General Dynamics Co. has a 52-week low of $247.01 and a 52-week high of $316.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.61 billion, a PE ratio of 18.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.61.

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

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on GD shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price target (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Vertical Research downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, General Dynamics has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $301.24.

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.