Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Sells 13,766 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky decreased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 24.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 41,539 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 13,766 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $10,946,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total transaction of $7,499,895.82. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GD traded up $6.30 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $272.03. 1,834,966 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,366,181. The stock has a market cap of $73.01 billion, a PE ratio of 19.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43. The business's fifty day moving average is $263.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $272.30. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $239.20 and a one year high of $316.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.43 by $0.23. The firm 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%. As a group, analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. This is a positive change from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on GD. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Baird R W lowered General Dynamics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, TD Securities increased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $293.83.

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.