Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP Cuts Stock Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP lessened its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 15.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,113 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 388 shares during the quarter. Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $549,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of GD. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC grew its stake in General Dynamics by 411.5% in the third quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 133 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the third quarter worth $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $286.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on General Dynamics from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 3rd. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $301.00 to $333.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.80.

General Dynamics Stock Down 4.0 %

Shares of GD traded down $11.57 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $281.15. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,023,365 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,103,578. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market cap of $77.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a 50 day moving average of $280.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $261.08. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $202.35 and a 1-year high of $296.50.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.68 by ($0.04). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.61% and a net margin of 7.84%. The company had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.58 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. This is a boost 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 2.02%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Dynamics news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,355 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 773,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $204,569,860.87. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other General Dynamics news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,355 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.31, for a total transaction of $8,551,750.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 773,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,569,860.87. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark C. Roualet sold 73,330 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.75, for a total value of $19,414,117.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 149,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,502,023.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.