Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 668 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio trimmed its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 123,181 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 668 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $37,225,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in General Dynamics by 0.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,205,330 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,292,851,000 after buying an additional 109,618 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 9.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,307,612,000 after acquiring an additional 943,247 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,829,662 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,366,124,000 after acquiring an additional 189,904 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,940,537 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,493,030,000 after purchasing an additional 24,464 shares during the period. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 4,178,460 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,262,731,000 after purchasing an additional 49,397 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on GD shares. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $333.00 to $352.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on General Dynamics from $317.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $309.00 to $306.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on General Dynamics from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.69.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.05, for a total value of $406,626.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,592 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,515.60. This represents a 26.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD stock opened at $269.63 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $294.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $294.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. General Dynamics Co. has a 12-month low of $247.36 and a 12-month high of $316.90. The company has a market cap of $74.14 billion, a PE ratio of 20.54, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.59.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.48 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.65 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. The business’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.04 EPS. Analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 43.26%.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.