Associated Banc Corp Sells 131 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Associated Banc Corp trimmed its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 11.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 973 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 131 shares during the period. Associated Banc Corp’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $256,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in GD. Community Bank N.A. lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 0.6% in the third quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 5,461 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,650,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,344 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,313,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Purus Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Purus Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,660 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $701,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 4.2% during the third quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY now owns 1,012 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD opened at $262.19 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $257.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $278.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $239.87 and a 1 year high of $316.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.88 billion, a PE ratio of 19.22, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share (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%. On average, analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.99%.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on GD. Baird R W downgraded General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $283.00 price objective (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $244.00 to $261.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price objective on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $297.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Dynamics news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was 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 owns 45,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value 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 company 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.