Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 462,733 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA decreased its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,366,929 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 462,733 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,941,112,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price 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. Barclays lowered their price objective on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. BTIG Research cut shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $297.71.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE GD opened at $273.93 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $258.90 and its 200 day moving average is $276.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.06 billion, a PE ratio of 20.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $239.87 and a twelve month high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced 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 net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. Research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. 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. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.99%.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often 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.