Great Lakes Advisors LLC Sells 4,643 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC trimmed its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 22.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,256 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 4,643 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $4,283,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Baird R W downgraded General Dynamics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Robert W. Baird reissued 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. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $297.71.

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General Dynamics Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE GD traded up $0.59 on Wednesday, reaching $268.11. The company had a trading volume of 1,495,779 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,238,310. The firm has a market cap of $72.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.66, a P/E/G 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 has a 50 day moving average of $258.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $278.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. Analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. This is an increase from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.99%.

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

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through 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 owns 11,175 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. The trade was 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 currently owned by company insiders.

General Dynamics Company 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.