Ieq Capital LLC Sells 2,140 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Ieq Capital LLC lowered its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 7.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,921 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 2,140 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $7,093,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 22.7% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 703 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $212,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in General Dynamics by 6.2% during the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,168 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $655,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the third quarter valued at about $447,000. Waldron Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 10.2% in the third quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 768 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $232,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 18,167 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,490,000 after acquiring an additional 1,374 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

GD stock opened at $246.25 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. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $239.87 and a 1 year high of $316.90. The company has a market cap of $66.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $260.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $282.84.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were given a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.64%.

General Dynamics announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced 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. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 target price (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. 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 reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $283.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $298.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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.