King Luther Capital Management Corp Decreases Stock Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

King Luther Capital Management Corp trimmed its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,894 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 1,028 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $5,769,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

General Dynamics Price Performance

GD opened at $264.25 on Wednesday. General Dynamics Co. has a 52-week low of $239.87 and a 52-week high of $316.90. The company has a 50 day moving average of $257.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $279.44. The company has a market cap of $71.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

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General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. On average, analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

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

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is an increase from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Vertical Research downgraded General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their target price on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $297.71.

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.

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