Martin Capital Partners LLC Cuts Stock Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Martin Capital Partners LLC decreased its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 58.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,931 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 9,866 shares during the quarter. General Dynamics comprises about 2.2% of Martin Capital Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Martin Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,826,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in GD. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in General Dynamics by 67.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,546 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,583,000 after purchasing an additional 3,448 shares during the last quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 36.4% during the third quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 15,000 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,533,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 10.0% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 37,074 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $11,204,000 after acquiring an additional 3,363 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 69.1% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 261,992 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $69,032,000 after acquiring an additional 107,095 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lummis Asset Management LP lifted its position in General Dynamics by 32.6% in the 3rd quarter. Lummis Asset Management LP now owns 10,368 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,133,000 after acquiring an additional 2,551 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE:GD opened at $257.64 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $266.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $286.28. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $247.01 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 company has a market cap of $70.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.89, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.61.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 41.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on GD shares. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $354.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $300.06.

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.