Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Lowers Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,733 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 879 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $3,882,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GD. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Vertical Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price target (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $297.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was 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 trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the company’s 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 owns 45,192 shares in the company, 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 owned by corporate insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE:GD opened at $268.11 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $258.34 and its 200 day moving average is $278.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.48 billion, a PE ratio of 19.66, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $239.87 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share (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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.99%.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs 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.