Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 222,715 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Prudential Financial Inc. reduced its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 59.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 149,816 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 222,715 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $39,475,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Interchange Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC now owns 819 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. ICW Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,491 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,237,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 148.6% during the fourth quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 28,872 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,607,000 after acquiring an additional 17,257 shares in the last quarter. Twin City Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Twin City Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,460 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $648,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth about $589,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. The trade was a 37.88 % 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 corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Baird R W cut General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $297.71.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE:GD opened at $267.61 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $239.87 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90. The firm has a market cap of $72.35 billion, a PE ratio of 19.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $258.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $277.27.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. Equities research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board 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. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 43.99%.

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.