Abacus Planning Group Inc. Decreases Stock Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Abacus Planning Group Inc. reduced its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,296 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 55 shares during the period. Abacus Planning Group Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $341,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 241.7% in the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Dynamics Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $243.95 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $65.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37. The company has a fifty day moving average of $260.41 and a 200 day moving average of $283.10. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $239.87 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GD. Vertical Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 target price (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $298.59.

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.