General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Stock Holdings Trimmed by King Luther Capital Management Corp

King Luther Capital Management Corp trimmed its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 21,894 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,028 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $5,769,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GD. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 3.8% in the third quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC now owns 955 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $289,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Community Bank N.A. grew its stake in General Dynamics by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 5,461 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,650,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. increased its position in General Dynamics by 0.9% in the third quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,344 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,313,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Purus Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Purus Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,660 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $701,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE:GD opened at $264.25 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a 50-day moving average of $257.99 and a 200-day moving average of $279.44. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $239.87 and a twelve month high of $316.90. The firm has a market cap of $71.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59.

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 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%. Analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program 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. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 43.99%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on GD. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. BTIG Research downgraded General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. William Blair cut General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $297.71.

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.