Mengis Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Mengis Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,323 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 50 shares during the quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $876,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CWS Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 25.9% in the fourth quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,938 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $511,000 after acquiring an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,435 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $905,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 153.0% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 6,857 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,807,000 after acquiring an additional 4,147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 68,910 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $18,157,000 after acquiring an additional 6,294 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on GD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Vertical Research cut shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, General Dynamics presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $298.59.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $246.24 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $66.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.05, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $259.28 and its 200 day moving average is $282.18. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $239.87 and a 1 year high of $316.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were given a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.