ING Groep NV Sells 1,530 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

ING Groep NV reduced its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,959 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,530 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $8,684,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in General Dynamics by 1.6% during the third quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,223 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $672,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in General Dynamics by 3.8% during the third quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC now owns 955 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. raised its stake in General Dynamics by 0.6% during the third quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 5,461 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,650,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its stake in General Dynamics by 1.2% during the third quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 3,013 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $911,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP raised its stake in General Dynamics by 1.8% during the third quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 2,042 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $617,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of GD opened at $243.02 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $239.87 and a 1 year high of $316.90. The stock has a market cap of $65.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $259.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $282.54.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. On average, equities analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

GD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on General Dynamics from $279.00 to $276.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research lowered General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $283.00 target price (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $298.59.

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.