State of Michigan Retirement System Decreases Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

State of Michigan Retirement System cut its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 70,012 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $18,447,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GD. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on GD shares. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays reduced their price target on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wolfe Research downgraded General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.71.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GD opened at $250.68 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $257.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $280.39. General Dynamics Co. has a 52-week low of $239.87 and a 52-week high of $316.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.