17 Capital Partners LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

17 Capital Partners LLC lessened its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,393 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 255 shares during the period. 17 Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,421,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 40,389.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,379,472 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $416,876,000 after purchasing an additional 1,376,065 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 9.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,307,612,000 after buying an additional 943,247 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 13.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,674,998,000 after acquiring an additional 638,342 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 117.0% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 858,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $259,469,000 after acquiring an additional 463,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 43.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 942,485 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $284,818,000 after acquiring an additional 283,972 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.3 %

GD stock opened at $254.84 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $70.07 billion, a PE ratio of 18.68, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $247.01 and a one year high of $316.90. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $264.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $285.62.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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, equities research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.84 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.64%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays decreased their target price on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of 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. One 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $300.06.

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.