General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Sold by Wealth Alliance

Wealth Alliance trimmed its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 33.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 815 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 416 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $215,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

General Dynamics Price Performance

NYSE GD opened at $243.02 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $239.87 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $259.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $282.53. The firm has a market cap of $65.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 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 (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on GD shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Baird R W downgraded General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Vertical Research cut General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group dropped their target price on General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $298.59.

About General Dynamics

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.