General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Sold by Earnest Partners LLC

Earnest Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 196,025 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 1,570 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC owned 0.07% of General Dynamics worth $51,651,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GD. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 43.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 942,485 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $284,818,000 after acquiring an additional 283,972 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $393,000. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co increased its position in General Dynamics by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 9,078 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,743,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,892,000. Finally, Arvest Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the third quarter valued at approximately $20,667,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of GD stock traded up $1.70 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $273.21. 1,637,735 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,364,463. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $266.84 and a 200 day moving average of $271.19. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $239.20 and a 1 year high of $316.90. The firm has a market cap of $73.33 billion, a PE ratio of 20.03, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.43 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $12.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.92 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. General Dynamics's revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.88 EPS. Analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. This is a boost from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics's payout ratio is 41.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $261.00 to $236.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. BTIG Research cut shares of General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Baird R W cut General Dynamics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. William Blair downgraded General Dynamics from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $292.88.

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.