International Assets Investment Management LLC Sells 1,375,918 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

International Assets Investment Management LLC decreased its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 99.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,554 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,375,918 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $928,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in General Dynamics by 239.7% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 8,075 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,341,000 after purchasing an additional 5,698 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC lifted its position in General Dynamics by 22.1% during the 2nd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 1,548 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $449,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its stake in General Dynamics by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 2,013 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $584,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 10.9% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 25,204 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $7,313,000 after purchasing an additional 2,471 shares during the period. Finally, MGO One Seven LLC raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 1.5% in the second quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 7,425 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,154,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on GD shares. Barclays cut their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $330.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Vertical Research cut shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a report on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on General Dynamics from $331.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $330.00 to $290.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $308.18.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GD opened at $261.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.80. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $247.36 and a 1 year high of $316.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.86 billion, a PE ratio of 19.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $277.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $289.35.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.65 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 7.90%. General Dynamics’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.04 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.26%.

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.