Columbus Macro LLC Sells 421 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Columbus Macro LLC reduced its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 5.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,688 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 421 shares during the quarter. Columbus Macro LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,889,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. New England Professional Planning Group Inc. grew its stake in General Dynamics by 4.3% in the first quarter. New England Professional Planning Group Inc. now owns 1,736 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $490,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. West Coast Financial LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the first quarter worth $205,000. Mechanics Bank Trust Department acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the first quarter valued at $212,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the first quarter valued at $61,000. Finally, Unison Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 16,691 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,715,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total transaction of $14,182,325.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 768,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $218,773,956.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Leon Rudy F. De sold 2,570 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.00, for a total value of $740,160.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,518 shares in the company, valued at $1,589,184. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total value of $14,182,325.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 768,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $218,773,956.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 118,486 shares of company stock valued at $34,391,642 over the last three months. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.3 %

GD stock traded down $1.00 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $294.28. The stock had a trading volume of 147,638 shares, compared to its average volume of 825,019. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $209.25 and a one year high of $302.75. The company’s 50 day moving average is $293.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $277.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a market capitalization of $80.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.64.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by ($0.01). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 7.85%. The business had revenue of $10.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.55 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $325.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on General Dynamics from $291.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on General Dynamics from $253.00 to $284.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, StockNews.com cut General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $303.24.

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.