General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Sold by Edgar Lomax Co. VA

Edgar Lomax Co. VA cut its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 121,089 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 2,350 shares during the period. General Dynamics comprises about 2.1% of Edgar Lomax Co. VA's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Edgar Lomax Co. VA's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $31,906,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GD. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,689 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,553,000 after acquiring an additional 1,283 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $607,000. Hickory Point Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $692,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 69.1% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 261,992 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $69,032,000 after acquiring an additional 107,095 shares during the period. Finally, Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth $550,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the business's 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 sale, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total transaction of $7,499,895.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GD has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on General Dynamics from $261.00 to $236.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. BTIG Research downgraded General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Vertical Research lowered General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $293.83.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of GD traded up $3.60 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $269.33. 870,132 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,373,087. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $239.20 and a 1-year high of $316.90. The company has a 50 day moving average of $263.01 and a 200-day moving average of $272.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market cap of $72.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.43 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $12.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.92 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. Analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a $1.50 dividend. 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 2.23%. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is 43.99%.

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.