Americana Partners LLC Trims Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Americana Partners LLC lessened its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 92.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 827 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 9,718 shares during the quarter. Americana Partners LLC's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $218,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 0.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,205,330 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $4,292,851,000 after purchasing an additional 109,618 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in General Dynamics by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,307,612,000 after buying an additional 943,247 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 2.5% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,829,662 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,366,124,000 after acquiring an additional 189,904 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 13.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,674,998,000 after acquiring an additional 638,342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 0.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,940,537 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,493,030,000 after purchasing an additional 24,464 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $283.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Baird R W downgraded General Dynamics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $298.59.

General Dynamics Stock Down 1.3 %

General Dynamics stock traded down $3.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $243.02. The company had a trading volume of 1,947,405 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,735,765. General Dynamics Co. has a 12 month low of $239.87 and a 12 month high of $316.90. The company has a market capitalization of $65.70 billion, a PE ratio of 17.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.61. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $260.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $282.84. 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 (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share (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, sell-side analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were given a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.64%.

General Dynamics Company 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.