General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland Sells 27,562 Shares

General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

General Dynamics Price Performance

GD stock opened at $260.21 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.35 billion, a PE ratio of 19.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The company’s 50-day moving average is $257.92 and its 200-day moving average is $279.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $239.87 and a 1 year high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released 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 return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. Equities research analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna reduced 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. Royal Bank of Canada reduced 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 note on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $283.00 price objective (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective 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, Baird R W cut shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $297.71.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Dynamics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Copia Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth about $78,000. Copley Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 10,664.7% in the 4th quarter. Copley Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,830 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $482,000 after acquiring an additional 1,813 shares during the last quarter. Cim LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Cim LLC now owns 6,952 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,832,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth about $206,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

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.