General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Sold by Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lowered its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 8,532 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 202 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $2,248,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Guidance Capital Inc. boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 3,248 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $865,000 after acquiring an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. 1858 Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in General Dynamics by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. 1858 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,186 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $839,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Welch Group LLC grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 2,027 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $534,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. raised its stake in General Dynamics by 48.6% during the fourth quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 3,910 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,030,000 after purchasing an additional 1,279 shares during the period. Finally, WESPAC Advisors SoCal LLC raised its position in General Dynamics by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. WESPAC Advisors SoCal LLC now owns 21,196 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,585,000 after purchasing an additional 2,076 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.3 %

General Dynamics stock opened at $254.84 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $265.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $285.87. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $247.01 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90. The firm has a market cap of $70.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 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 earnings results 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 net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. As a group, analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.88 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics declared that its board 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 repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were given a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.64%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on GD. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on General Dynamics from $279.00 to $276.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Vertical Research downgraded General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $300.06.

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.