Avestar Capital LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Avestar Capital LLC lifted its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 18.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,958 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 466 shares during the quarter. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $779,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 241.7% in the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Baird R W lowered General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $279.00 to $276.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $298.59.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD stock opened at $246.14 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $263.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $284.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.68 billion, a PE ratio of 18.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a 52-week low of $242.86 and a 52-week high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.84 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 41.64%.

General Dynamics announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value 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 approximately $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

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.