Bessemer Group Inc. Reduces Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Bessemer Group Inc. lowered its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 14,599 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 266 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $3,847,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in General Dynamics by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,689 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,553,000 after purchasing an additional 1,283 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at $607,000. Hickory Point Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $692,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 69.1% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 261,992 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $69,032,000 after buying an additional 107,095 shares during the period. Finally, Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $550,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD stock opened at $276.66 on Friday. 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 $74.25 billion, a PE ratio of 20.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $239.20 and a 1 year high of $316.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $259.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $273.77.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GD has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $335.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Baird R W downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $261.00 to $236.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.82.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total transaction of $7,499,895.82. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’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 owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics 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.