Polaris Capital Management LLC Sells 3,800 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Polaris Capital Management LLC lowered its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 133,564 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 3,800 shares during the quarter. General Dynamics makes up approximately 1.7% of Polaris Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Polaris Capital Management LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $35,193,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GD. Citigroup lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Wolfe Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $298.59.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % 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

GD opened at $256.17 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $264.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $285.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.44 billion, a PE ratio of 18.78, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $247.01 and a twelve month high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were paid a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.64%.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.