Confluence Investment Management LLC Lowers Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Confluence Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 86,659 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,087 shares during the quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $22,834,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 40,389.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,379,472 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $416,876,000 after purchasing an additional 1,376,065 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 9.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,307,612,000 after buying an additional 943,247 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,674,998,000 after buying an additional 638,342 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its position in General Dynamics by 117.0% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 858,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $259,469,000 after acquiring an additional 463,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 2,189.3% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 374,207 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $108,572,000 after acquiring an additional 357,861 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $333.00 to $352.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $331.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $330.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on General Dynamics from $322.00 to $295.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $314.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was 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 directly owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of General Dynamics stock traded down $0.40 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $263.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 230,565 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,164,984. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.32. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $247.36 and a one year high of $316.90. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $281.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $290.83. The stock has a market cap of $72.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.59.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.65 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. The business’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.04 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.26%.

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 purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership 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.