Securian Asset Management Inc. Cuts Stock Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Securian Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,815 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 447 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $3,640,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of General Dynamics 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

General Dynamics stock opened at $260.21 on Thursday. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $239.87 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market cap 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. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $257.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $279.30.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. On average, equities research analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GD has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, BTIG Research cut General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, General Dynamics has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.