Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 292,187 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 5,390 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.11% of General Dynamics worth $76,988,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Coston McIsaac & Partners boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 178 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 2.3% in the third quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 1,482 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $448,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 1.6% during the third quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,223 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $672,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 3.8% during the third quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC now owns 955 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Community Bank N.A. increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 0.6% during the third quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 5,461 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,650,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on GD. BTIG Research downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $283.00 target price (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $298.59.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of General Dynamics stock traded up $2.07 on Thursday, hitting $246.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,566,920 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,729,343. The company has a market capitalization of $66.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $260.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $283.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $239.87 and a 1 year high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics's payout ratio is 41.64%.

General Dynamics 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.