Sigma Planning Corp Sells 1,053 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Sigma Planning Corp trimmed its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 14.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,050 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,053 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,594,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in GD. State Street Corp lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 9.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,307,612,000 after purchasing an additional 943,247 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 13.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,674,998,000 after purchasing an additional 638,342 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 117.0% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 858,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $259,469,000 after acquiring an additional 463,000 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 43.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 942,485 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $284,818,000 after acquiring an additional 283,972 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,829,662 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,366,124,000 after acquiring an additional 189,904 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GD has been the subject of several recent research reports. Vertical Research downgraded General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $279.00 to $276.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $298.59.

General Dynamics Price Performance

GD opened at $243.02 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $259.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $282.49. 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 company has a market cap of $65.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a 12-month low of $239.87 and a 12-month high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly 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%. Research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were paid a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is 41.64%.

General Dynamics announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the 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 sale, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About General Dynamics

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.