New England Professional Planning Group Inc. Has $437,000 Stock Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

New England Professional Planning Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,659 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 113 shares during the period. General Dynamics makes up about 0.2% of New England Professional Planning Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. New England Professional Planning Group Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $437,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Denver PWM LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth about $55,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in General Dynamics by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 6,701 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,766,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc increased its position in General Dynamics by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 62,313 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $16,419,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL increased its position in General Dynamics by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL now owns 25,336 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,676,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Redmond Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth about $287,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Vertical Research lowered General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. William Blair lowered General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $298.59.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

General Dynamics stock opened at $243.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $65.70 billion, a PE ratio of 17.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $239.87 and a one year high of $316.90. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $259.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $282.53.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is 41.64%.

General Dynamics announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.