Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Sells 202 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. cut its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,532 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 202 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $2,248,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GD. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its position in General Dynamics by 5.7% in the third quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 2,859 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $864,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 2,311 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $698,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. New England Professional Planning Group Inc. boosted its position in General Dynamics by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. New England Professional Planning Group Inc. now owns 1,772 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $535,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the period. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 19.5% in the 3rd quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,486 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $445,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peak Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the third quarter valued at about $3,022,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $254.84 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $265.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $285.87. General Dynamics Co. has a 52-week low of $247.01 and a 52-week high of $316.90. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $70.07 billion, a PE ratio of 18.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.61.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. On average, analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were given a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.64%.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on GD. Citigroup raised their target price on General Dynamics from $354.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 target price (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Vertical Research downgraded General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $300.06.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

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.