Keb Asset Management LLC Sells 136 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Keb Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 14.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 801 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 136 shares during the quarter. Keb Asset Management LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $211,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in GD. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of 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 during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GD opened at $271.82 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market cap of $73.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $257.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $279.78. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $239.87 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. On average, analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.99%.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows 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 of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Vertical Research downgraded General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Baird R W cut General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $297.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the 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 owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.