White Pine Capital LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

White Pine Capital LLC trimmed its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 39.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 988 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 650 shares during the period. White Pine Capital LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $257,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Operose Advisors LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,355 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.31, for a total value of $8,551,750.05. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 773,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $204,569,860.87. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on GD shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $291.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $301.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Alembic Global Advisors lowered shares of General Dynamics from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $296.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $253.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $293.43.

General Dynamics Price Performance

General Dynamics stock traded down $0.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $284.41. 1,244,205 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,231,567. The company has a market cap of $78.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.20, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.68. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $280.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $261.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. General Dynamics Co. has a 12-month low of $202.35 and a 12-month high of $296.50.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $10.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.26 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 16.48%. General Dynamics’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.64 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.57 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 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.42 per share. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.33%.

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.