General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Stock Position Decreased by Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC trimmed its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 11.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,107 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 5,516 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $10,831,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 17.6% during the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 1,803 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $549,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 38,694 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $11,779,000 after purchasing an additional 3,682 shares in the last quarter. BSW Wealth Partners purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $202,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 45,476 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $13,743,000 after purchasing an additional 6,352 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 2,042 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $617,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

GD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and set a $300.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $244.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, William Blair cut shares of General Dynamics from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $297.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE:GD traded up $7.27 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $271.82. 1,978,836 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,795,760. 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 company has a market cap of $73.49 billion, a PE ratio of 19.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $257.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $279.99. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. This is a positive change from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics's payout ratio is currently 41.64%.

General Dynamics announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.