Columbia Asset Management Sells 40,398 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Columbia Asset Management cut its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 93.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,928 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 40,398 shares during the period. Columbia Asset Management’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $771,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 9.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 943,247 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $197,238,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in General Dynamics by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,780,078 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,265,813,000 after buying an additional 706,317 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,674,998,000 after buying an additional 638,342 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 117.0% in the third 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 during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of GD opened at $273.93 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $258.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $276.19. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $239.87 and a 1 year high of $316.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.99%.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on GD shares. TD Cowen lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Royal Bank of Canada decreased 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 report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price objective (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.71.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

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 transaction of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

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.