Financial Counselors Inc. Sells 2,695 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Financial Counselors Inc. cut its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 47.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,995 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 2,695 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.'s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $789,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GD. United Bank grew its stake in General Dynamics by 4.0% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 5,776 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,746,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,470,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 57,899 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $17,497,000 after buying an additional 4,024 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 666,544 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $201,430,000 after purchasing an additional 29,223 shares during the period. Finally, CWS Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,539 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $465,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company's stock.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Dynamics news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at $12,297,195.12. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, 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 stock was 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 $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.52% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group dropped their price objective on General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Robert W. Baird reiterated 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. BTIG Research downgraded General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Vertical Research downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, General Dynamics presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $298.59.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.8 %

GD traded up $2.23 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $276.37. 426,927 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,671,717. The stock has a market cap of $74.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.26, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $239.87 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90. The business's 50 day moving average is $258.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $276.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last announced 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 net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. As a group, equities analysts expect 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 authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. 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 yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.99%.

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.