Csenge Advisory Group Sells 171 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Csenge Advisory Group reduced its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 7.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,101 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 171 shares during the period. Csenge Advisory Group’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $554,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GD. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 241.7% during the 3rd 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 period. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

General Dynamics Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of GD opened at $242.46 on Wednesday. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $239.87 and a 1 year high of $316.90. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $261.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $283.72. 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 firm has a market cap of $66.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.61.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen dropped their price target on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. 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. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 target price (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Vertical Research cut shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $298.59.

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.