Cullen Investment Group LTD. Sells 90 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Cullen Investment Group LTD. cut its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,235 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 90 shares during the quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,379,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in General Dynamics by 40,389.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,379,472 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $416,876,000 after buying an additional 1,376,065 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 9.4% in the 3rd 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. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in General Dynamics by 13.0% during 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 period. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 463,000 shares during the period. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 2,189.3% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 374,207 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $108,572,000 after purchasing an additional 357,861 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GD opened at $263.73 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $275.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $288.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.52 billion, a PE ratio of 20.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $247.36 and a twelve month high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by ($0.13). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 7.90%. The business had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.04 earnings per share. General Dynamics’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.84 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is 43.26%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on GD. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $331.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on General Dynamics from $295.00 to $279.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $330.00 to $315.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $308.18.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Dynamics news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.