Courier Capital LLC Cuts Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Courier Capital LLC decreased its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 14.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,471 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,105 shares during the period. Courier Capital LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,705,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GD. Coston McIsaac & Partners lifted its position in General Dynamics by 22.8% during the third quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 178 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 1,482 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $448,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 10.6% in the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 354 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,223 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 2,022 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $587,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

GD stock traded up $4.35 during trading on Monday, hitting $263.73. 1,359,869 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,481,726. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $276.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $288.99. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $247.36 and a 52 week high of $316.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61.

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

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

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 43.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $330.00 to $290.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. TD Cowen raised General Dynamics to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Vertical Research downgraded General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. 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 report on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $308.18.

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.