Cannon Advisors Inc. Sells 211 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Cannon Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,798 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 211 shares during the quarter. General Dynamics comprises approximately 2.0% of Cannon Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Cannon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $2,318,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total transaction of $7,499,895.82. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,297,195.12. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on GD shares. TD Cowen cut their target price on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $283.00 price objective (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. BTIG Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Baird R W lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on General Dynamics from $244.00 to $261.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, General Dynamics presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.71.

General Dynamics Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:GD opened at $272.71 on Tuesday. General Dynamics Co. has a 12 month low of $239.87 and a 12 month high of $316.90. The firm has a market cap of $73.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $258.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $276.41.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share 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, research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.99%.

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.