General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Sold by Claro Advisors LLC

Claro Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 21.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,769 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,030 shares during the quarter. Claro Advisors LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $993,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in General Dynamics by 241.7% in the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 385.2% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 131 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on GD shares. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $330.00 to $315.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wolfe Research lowered General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $330.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $308.18.

General Dynamics Trading Up 1.7 %

GD stock opened at $263.73 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. General Dynamics Co. has a 12-month low of $247.36 and a 12-month high of $316.90. The stock has a market cap of $72.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.09, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The business’s 50-day moving average is $275.94 and its 200 day moving average is $288.79.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.48 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.65 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 7.90%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.04 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.26%.

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

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

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.