Martin Investment Management LLC Sells 3,942 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Martin Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 14.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,520 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 3,942 shares during the quarter. General Dynamics comprises 1.7% of Martin Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Martin Investment Management LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $6,197,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on GD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. William Blair downgraded shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. BTIG Research downgraded General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $297.71.

Insider Activity

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

General Dynamics Trading Up 0.5 %

GD opened at $273.93 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $74.06 billion, a PE ratio of 20.08, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a 50 day moving average of $258.90 and a 200-day moving average of $276.19. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 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%. Equities research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.99%.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication 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.