General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Stake Lessened by Sanctuary Advisors LLC

Sanctuary Advisors LLC lessened its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 43.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,094 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 41,717 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $13,898,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GD. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 241.7% in the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the third quarter worth $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

GD stock opened at $242.46 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $66.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.78, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $261.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $283.72. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $239.87 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted 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 return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. Sell-side analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 41.64%.

General Dynamics announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GD has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 target price (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $298.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.