Sigma Planning Corp Sells 1,053 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Sigma Planning Corp trimmed its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 14.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,050 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,053 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,594,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Redmond Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $287,000. Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $300,000. Navellier & Associates Inc. grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 11,855 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,124,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 891 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $235,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Outfitter Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. Outfitter Financial LLC now owns 4,200 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,107,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GD has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wolfe Research lowered General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $298.59.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 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. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GD opened at $243.02 on Monday. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $259.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $282.49. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $239.87 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90. The firm has a market cap of $65.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.61.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were given a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.64%.

General Dynamics announced that its board has initiated a stock 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 a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.