General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Sold by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,599 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 266 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $3,847,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Activity

In other General Dynamics 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 value of $459,201.28. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares of the company’s stock, 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 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on GD shares. Baird R W downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. William Blair cut General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 price objective (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.82.

General Dynamics Trading Up 1.8 %

GD opened at $276.66 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $259.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $273.77. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $239.20 and a 52 week high of $316.90. The firm has a market cap of $74.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. On average, equities analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.99%.

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.