General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) saw a large decrease in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,570,000 shares, a decrease of 16.0% from the February 28th total of 3,060,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,710,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days. Currently, 1.0% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,297,195.12. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Dynamics

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,780,078 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,265,813,000 after buying an additional 706,317 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in General Dynamics by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,205,330 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,292,851,000 after acquiring an additional 109,618 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,734,148 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,774,381,000 after purchasing an additional 463,497 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,688,672 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,496,939,000 after purchasing an additional 131,268 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Dynamics Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE GD traded up $1.35 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $273.93. 1,470,248 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,319,261. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $74.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The business’s 50 day moving average is $258.84 and its 200-day moving average is $276.41. General Dynamics 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 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 anticipate that General Dynamics will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is 43.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $297.71.

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.