Vontobel Holding Ltd. Sells 1,347 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. lessened its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,488 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,347 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $5,925,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GD. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in General Dynamics by 241.7% in the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the third quarter worth $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on GD. Barclays reduced their price target on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. BTIG Research cut General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup cut their target price on General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their target price on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $298.59.

General Dynamics Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:GD opened at $241.98 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $65.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.74, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.61. 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 1 year low of $239.87 and a 1 year high of $316.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $261.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $284.25.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. Sell-side analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.84 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were paid a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.64%.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.52% 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.