South Dakota Investment Council Has $11.52 Million Stock Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

South Dakota Investment Council lowered its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 43,703 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 623 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $11,515,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,444 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $380,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Denver PWM LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $55,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 6,701 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,766,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 62,313 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $16,419,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital City Trust Co. FL boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL now owns 25,336 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,676,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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 value of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE:GD opened at $243.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $259.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $282.53. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $239.87 and a 1 year high of $316.90. The company has a market capitalization of $65.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.61.

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 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%. On average, analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were given a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on GD. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research lowered General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $283.00 target price (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $298.59.

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.