Swiss National Bank Sells 32,300 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Swiss National Bank reduced its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 659,846 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 32,300 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.24% of General Dynamics worth $173,863,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. United Bank lifted its position in General Dynamics by 4.0% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 5,776 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,746,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in General Dynamics by 19.6% in the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 3,258 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $985,000 after buying an additional 534 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in General Dynamics by 16.2% in the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,895 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,479,000 after buying an additional 684 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its position in General Dynamics by 10.0% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 37,074 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $11,204,000 after buying an additional 3,363 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovack Advisors Inc. lifted its position in General Dynamics by 56.4% in the third quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 2,355 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $712,000 after buying an additional 849 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

GD opened at $260.87 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a 52-week low of $239.87 and a 52-week high of $316.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market cap of $70.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $257.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $279.18.

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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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. This is an increase from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is 43.99%.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 value of $7,499,895.82. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at $12,297,195.12. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company'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 value of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % 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

A number of analysts recently issued reports on GD shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. William Blair lowered General Dynamics from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Vertical Research lowered 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 research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $297.71.

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.

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