General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Stock Position Decreased by First Command Advisory Services Inc.

First Command Advisory Services Inc. cut its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 13.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 523 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 79 shares during the quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $138,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,689 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,553,000 after buying an additional 1,283 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 67.6% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,546 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,583,000 after buying an additional 3,448 shares in the last quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 36.4% during the third quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 15,000 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,533,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $607,000. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 10.0% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 37,074 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $11,204,000 after buying an additional 3,363 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

General Dynamics Price Performance

NYSE GD opened at $251.53 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $239.87 and a twelve month high of $316.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.00 billion, a PE ratio of 18.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $258.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $281.44.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were given a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.64%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Baird R W downgraded General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wolfe Research downgraded General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $283.00 target price (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’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 value of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.