General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland Sells 27,562 Shares

General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total transaction of $7,499,895.82. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

General Dynamics Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:GD traded down $3.91 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $260.21. 1,107,998 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,233,740. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $239.87 and a 1 year high of $316.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $257.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $279.44.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued 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%. Equities analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.99%.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Dynamics

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GD. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Copia Wealth Management purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Baird R W downgraded General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. BTIG Research cut shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.