Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Trims Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC reduced its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 136,647 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 3,010 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $36,005,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 241.7% in the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Dynamics news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.2 %

General Dynamics stock traded up $0.52 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $242.46. 2,113,415 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,712,724. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $239.87 and a twelve month high of $316.90. The company has a fifty day moving average of $261.40 and a 200-day moving average of $283.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market cap of $66.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.61.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. Sell-side analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.84 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors 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 yield of 2.34%. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Vertical Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group restated 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. Wolfe Research cut shares of General Dynamics from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $298.59.

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.