General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Acquired by Prospector Partners LLC

Prospector Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,704 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the quarter. Prospector Partners LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $4,665,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GD. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. William Blair lowered shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price target (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $298.59.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other 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 transaction of $459,201.28. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Down 7.3 %

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $249.94 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $239.87 and a twelve month high of $316.90. The stock has a market cap of $67.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $258.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $275.54.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. Equities research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 43.99%.

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.