General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Sold by International Assets Investment Management LLC

International Assets Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 99.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,554 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,375,918 shares during the quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $928,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,205,330 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,292,851,000 after acquiring an additional 109,618 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 943,247 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,829,662 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,366,124,000 after buying an additional 189,904 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in General Dynamics by 13.0% in 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, FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 0.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,940,537 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,493,030,000 after acquiring an additional 24,464 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

GD stock opened at $261.35 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $277.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $289.35. The company has a market capitalization of $71.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.90, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $247.36 and a twelve month high of $316.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by ($0.13). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. The business had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.04 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.84 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback 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. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 43.26%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 target price (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. TD Cowen raised General Dynamics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Vertical Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $308.18.

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.