Csenge Advisory Group Cuts Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Csenge Advisory Group lowered its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,101 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 171 shares during the quarter. Csenge Advisory Group’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $554,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in General Dynamics by 241.7% in the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price target (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Baird R W lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective 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, Vertical Research lowered General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $298.59.

Insider Transactions 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 stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of General Dynamics 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 directly owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GD opened at $242.46 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $239.87 and a 1 year high of $316.90. The company’s 50-day moving average is $261.40 and its 200 day moving average is $283.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.61.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.84 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were given a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.64%.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.