Dynasty Wealth Management LLC Lowers Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Dynasty Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,808 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 396 shares during the quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,267,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 3.8% in the third quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC now owns 955 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 5,461 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,650,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc. grew its position in General Dynamics by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 3,013 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $911,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP increased its stake in General Dynamics by 1.8% during the third quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 2,042 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $617,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Freedom Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 0.9% during the third quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,344 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,313,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’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 owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.5 %

GD stock opened at $252.87 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $68.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.54, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $239.87 and a twelve month high of $316.90. The company’s 50 day moving average is $258.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $281.17.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced 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%. Research analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics declared that its board has approved a share repurchase 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 usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

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 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 41.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wolfe Research cut shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. William Blair downgraded shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Vertical Research lowered General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Baird R W lowered General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.71.

About General Dynamics

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.