Woodward Diversified Capital LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Woodward Diversified Capital LLC cut its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 48.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,075 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,014 shares during the period. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $283,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Coston McIsaac & Partners increased its stake in General Dynamics by 22.8% during the third quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 178 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its position in General Dynamics by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 1,482 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 10.6% in the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 354 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in General Dynamics by 1.6% during the third quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,223 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $672,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jeppson Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in General Dynamics by 3.8% during the third quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC now owns 955 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of GD opened at $254.84 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $247.01 and a 52 week 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 firm has a market cap of $70.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.68, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $265.06 and a 200-day moving average of $285.87.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. As a group, analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.88 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were paid a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 41.64%.

General Dynamics announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on GD shares. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective (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, eleven have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $300.06.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were 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 owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

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.