Two Sigma Advisers LP Cuts Stock Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Two Sigma Advisers LP reduced its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 817,000 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 41,600 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned 0.30% of General Dynamics worth $215,271,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on General Dynamics from $268.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective 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. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $335.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $293.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the business'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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at $12,297,195.12. The trade was a 37.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of General Dynamics stock traded down $2.10 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $274.93. The company had a trading volume of 620,598 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,371,273. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $239.20 and a one year high of $316.90. The firm has a market cap of $73.79 billion, a PE ratio of 20.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.49. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $271.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $268.60.

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

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th were paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. This is a boost from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics's payout ratio is currently 41.61%.

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.