Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC Has $15.64 Million Stock Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 45.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 59,359 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 50,132 shares during the quarter. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $15,641,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,297,195.12. This represents a 37.88 % 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 Stock Up 2.6 %

GD stock opened at $254.09 on Wednesday. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $239.20 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $258.19 and a 200-day moving average of $274.44. The company has a market capitalization of $68.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.63, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. BTIG Research cut General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $297.12.

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.