Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 43,460 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,730,210 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 43,460 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.63% of General Dynamics worth $455,893,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Community Bank N.A. grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 5,461 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,650,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Purus Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Purus Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,660 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $701,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. grew its stake in General Dynamics by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 4.2% in the third quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY now owns 1,012 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Austin Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Austin Wealth Management LLC now owns 826 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $220,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total transaction of $7,499,895.82. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,297,195.12. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE GD opened at $272.71 on Tuesday. General Dynamics Co. has a 12-month low of $239.87 and a 12-month high of $316.90. The firm has a market cap of $73.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company’s 50 day moving average is $258.84 and its 200-day moving average is $276.41.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. Sell-side analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Baird R W downgraded General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $297.71.

General Dynamics Company 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.