Essex LLC Has $3.41 Million Stock Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Essex LLC lowered its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,929 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 461 shares during the quarter. Essex LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $3,407,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Stephens Inc. AR raised its stake in General Dynamics by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 16,594 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,372,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares during the period. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. raised its position in General Dynamics by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. now owns 38,928 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $10,257,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 153.3% in the 4th quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 16,188 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,264,000 after acquiring an additional 9,798 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP boosted its position in General Dynamics by 772.7% during the 4th quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 25,212 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,643,000 after acquiring an additional 22,323 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in General Dynamics by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,689 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,553,000 after acquiring an additional 1,283 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated 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 $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were 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 directly owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on GD shares. Vertical Research cut shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays decreased their target price 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. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $300.06.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.3 %

GD opened at $254.84 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $247.01 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90. The company has a market capitalization of $70.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $264.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $285.62.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.84 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were given a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 41.64%.

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.