Pacer Advisors Inc. Sells 4,791 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Pacer Advisors Inc. decreased its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 14.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,883 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 4,791 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $7,347,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 0.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,205,330 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $4,292,851,000 after buying an additional 109,618 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in General Dynamics by 9.4% during the third 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 period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,829,662 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,366,124,000 after acquiring an additional 189,904 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted 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 worth $1,674,998,000 after acquiring an additional 638,342 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,940,537 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,493,030,000 after purchasing an additional 24,464 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on GD shares. Baird R W cut shares of General Dynamics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Vertical Research cut shares of General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada cut General Dynamics from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $330.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $303.71.

General Dynamics Trading Down 4.2 %

General Dynamics stock opened at $251.52 on Thursday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $268.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $287.48. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $247.01 and a 52 week high of $316.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.16 billion, a PE ratio of 19.16, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.32.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 7.90%. Equities research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.66 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.26%.

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.