Optimum Investment Advisors Sells 900 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Optimum Investment Advisors reduced its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 73.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 322 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 900 shares during the quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors’ holdings in General Dynamics were worth $85,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Baird R W lowered General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group cut their price objective on General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, General Dynamics has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $297.71.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:GD opened at $263.30 on Monday. General Dynamics Co. has a 52-week low of $239.87 and a 52-week high of $316.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $258.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $277.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share (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 anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.99%.

General Dynamics announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are 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.