General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 363,920 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 10,056 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in General Dynamics were worth $96,102,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 price objective (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $244.00 to $261.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $297.71.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In related news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total transaction of $7,499,895.82. Following the sale, the senior vice president now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

General Dynamics stock opened at $267.51 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $258.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $278.32. General Dynamics Co. has a 12-month low of $239.87 and a 12-month high of $316.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $72.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59.

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

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. 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. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 43.99%.

General Dynamics announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics 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.