Savant Capital LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Savant Capital LLC cut its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 44.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,618 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 3,696 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,217,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Coston McIsaac & Partners increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 178 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 1,482 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $448,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,223 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $672,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC now owns 955 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $289,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Community Bank N.A. increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 5,461 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,650,000 after acquiring an additional 35 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 the company's 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 transaction, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was 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 approximately $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD stock traded up $0.99 on Tuesday, hitting $242.93. The company had a trading volume of 786,394 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,683,407. The firm has a market cap of $66.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $261.40 and a 200-day moving average price 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. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $239.87 and a twelve month high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share (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 research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. General Dynamics's payout ratio is 41.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on GD shares. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Vertical Research downgraded General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $298.59.

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.