General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Sold by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas trimmed its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 115,290 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 3,450 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in General Dynamics were worth $30,378,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $3,307,612,000 after purchasing an additional 943,247 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth about $197,238,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in General Dynamics by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,674,998,000 after purchasing an additional 638,342 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 117.0% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 858,600 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $259,469,000 after purchasing an additional 463,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 43.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 942,485 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $284,818,000 after buying an additional 283,972 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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General Dynamics Price Performance

GD traded up $1.73 on Tuesday, reaching $267.61. 911,939 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,249,400. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $239.87 and a twelve month high of $316.90. The stock has a market cap of $72.35 billion, a PE ratio of 19.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $258.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $277.45.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a boost from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. General Dynamics's payout ratio is presently 43.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Dynamics news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value 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. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $244.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Baird R W lowered General Dynamics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $297.71.

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.