Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Sells 1,977 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 57,482 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 1,977 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $15,146,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

General Dynamics Trading Up 2.4 %

GD traded up $6.30 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $272.03. 1,834,966 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,366,181. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $239.20 and a 52 week high of $316.90. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $263.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $272.30. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.43 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $12.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.92 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. This is a boost from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics's payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen cut their price objective on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Baird R W lowered shares of General Dynamics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. BTIG Research downgraded General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $293.83.

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.