Retirement Systems of Alabama Cuts Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lowered its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 49,920 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,321 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $12,963,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $286.53 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.37, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $281.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $262.88. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $202.35 and a twelve month high of $296.50.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by ($0.01). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 7.85%. The firm had revenue of $10.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.55 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be paid a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on GD. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $291.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $253.00 to $284.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $305.00 to $335.00 in a report on Monday. Argus raised their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $297.06.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total value of $3,914,215.17. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 103,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,816,065.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total transaction of $14,182,325.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 768,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $218,773,956.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total transaction of $3,914,215.17. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 103,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,816,065.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.