Mattern Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Mattern Capital Management LLC decreased its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 34,976 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 397 shares during the period. Mattern Capital Management LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $9,216,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GD. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,223 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $672,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC now owns 955 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 5,461 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,650,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 3,013 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $911,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 2,042 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $617,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on GD. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 target price (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Baird R W cut General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $298.59.

General Dynamics Trading Up 0.8 %

GD stock opened at $246.25 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. General Dynamics Co. has a 12-month low of $239.87 and a 12-month high of $316.90. The stock has a market cap of $66.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.05, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.61. The business’s 50-day moving average is $260.08 and its 200 day moving average is $282.84.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its earnings results 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.64%.

General Dynamics announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

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.