Sawgrass Asset Management LLC Reduces Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,064 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 392 shares during the quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,071,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 241.7% in the third 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 period. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics in the third quarter worth $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on GD shares. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective 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. Baird R W downgraded General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup reduced their price target on General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price target (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $298.59.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

NYSE:GD opened at $251.26 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $263.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $285.08. 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 stock has a market cap of $69.09 billion, a PE ratio of 18.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $247.01 and a one year high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities research analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.64%.

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

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.