Boston Partners Sells 233,773 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Boston Partners trimmed its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 16.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,201,960 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 233,773 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners’ holdings in General Dynamics were worth $317,064,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

General Dynamics Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE GD opened at $265.33 on Tuesday. 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 one year low of $239.87 and a one year high of $316.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.45, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $258.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $278.54.

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 return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. As a group, analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.99%.

General Dynamics declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase 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 generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GD has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $297.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

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.