General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Sold by Bahl & Gaynor Inc.

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 244,015 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 18,861 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned 0.09% of General Dynamics worth $64,296,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Advocates Investment Management purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the third quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 17.6% in the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 1,803 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $549,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in General Dynamics by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 38,694 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $11,779,000 after acquiring an additional 3,682 shares in the last quarter. BSW Wealth Partners purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the third quarter valued at $202,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 16.2% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 45,476 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $13,743,000 after purchasing an additional 6,352 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In related news, 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 value of $459,201.28. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. William Blair cut General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on General Dynamics from $276.00 to $244.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 target price (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.71.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE GD opened at $254.07 on Tuesday. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $239.87 and a 1-year high of $316.90. The company has a 50 day moving average of $258.09 and a 200-day moving average of $280.71. 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 firm has a market cap of $68.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.63, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.61.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were paid a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is 41.64%.

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.