Thomas Story & Son LLC Sells 260 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Thomas Story & Son LLC trimmed its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,461 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 260 shares during the quarter. General Dynamics makes up 4.0% of Thomas Story & Son LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Thomas Story & Son LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $9,607,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GD. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in General Dynamics by 241.7% during the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Dynamics Price Performance

NYSE:GD opened at $254.84 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $70.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $264.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $285.56. General Dynamics Co. has a 52-week low of $247.01 and a 52-week high of $316.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were given a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.64%.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Baird R W downgraded General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Vertical Research downgraded General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group decreased 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $300.06.

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.