Wealth Alliance Sells 416 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Wealth Alliance decreased its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 33.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor 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 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 1.6% during the third quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,223 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC now owns 955 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. boosted its position in General Dynamics by 0.6% in the third quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 5,461 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,650,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 1.2% during the third quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 3,013 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $911,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 2,042 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $617,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 price objective (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, BTIG Research lowered General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $298.59.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the business’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 sale, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

General Dynamics Trading Down 1.3 %

GD opened at $243.02 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $239.87 and a twelve month high of $316.90. The firm has a market cap of $65.70 billion, a PE 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 quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $259.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $282.53.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities 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. Stockholders 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 (DPR) is presently 41.64%.

General Dynamics announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.