FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co Reduces Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co trimmed its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 25.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 881 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 296 shares during the quarter. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $232,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

GD opened at $248.92 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $67.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $239.87 and a 1-year high of $316.90. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $258.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $281.65.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its 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%. Research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on GD shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $283.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.71.

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.