Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC Decreases Stock Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC reduced its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 20,521 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,537 shares during the period. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $5,407,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GD. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 241.7% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics during the third quarter worth $26,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the third quarter worth $30,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

General Dynamics Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of GD stock opened at $256.93 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $247.01 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $268.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $287.23. The stock has a market cap of $70.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 7.93%. On average, analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 15.92 EPS for the current year.

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

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 41.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on GD. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Wolfe Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays cut their price target on General Dynamics from $330.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on General Dynamics from $354.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $301.24.

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.