General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Sold by Fortem Financial Group LLC

Fortem Financial Group LLC cut its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,375 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 85 shares during the period. Fortem Financial Group LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,153,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GD. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 67.6% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,546 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,583,000 after purchasing an additional 3,448 shares in the last quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 36.4% in the 3rd quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 15,000 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,533,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its stake in General Dynamics by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 37,074 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $11,204,000 after acquiring an additional 3,363 shares in the last quarter. Lummis Asset Management LP lifted its position in General Dynamics by 32.6% in the third quarter. Lummis Asset Management LP now owns 10,368 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,133,000 after acquiring an additional 2,551 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 17.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 297,577 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $89,928,000 after purchasing an additional 44,387 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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 stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GD. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $330.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. TD Cowen raised shares of General Dynamics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $330.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $311.29.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of GD traded down $5.24 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $258.13. The company had a trading volume of 1,014,165 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,329,253. The company has a market capitalization of $70.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.66, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a 12-month low of $247.36 and a 12-month high of $316.90. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $280.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $290.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.48 by ($0.13). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 7.90%. The firm had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.65 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.04 EPS. General Dynamics’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.84 earnings per share for the current year.

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

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.26%.

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.