Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Sells 346 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. trimmed its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,219 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 346 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,375,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in GD. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 16.9% in the third quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,306 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,906,000 after acquiring an additional 912 shares in the last quarter. Thomasville National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 0.7% during the third quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 70,144 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $21,198,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 6.9% during the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 6,018 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,819,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the third quarter valued at $702,000. Finally, Affinity Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 18.1% during the third quarter. Affinity Wealth Management LLC now owns 856 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on GD. Susquehanna lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Vertical Research downgraded General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays dropped their target price on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 target price (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $298.59.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.5 %

GD stock opened at $256.17 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $264.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $285.57. The stock has a market cap of $70.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.78, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $247.01 and a twelve month high of $316.90. 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 issued 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 net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.84 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were paid a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.64%.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has approved 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 reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of General Dynamics 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 sale, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About General Dynamics

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.