Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. Sells 114 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. reduced its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,372 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 114 shares during the quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,679,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of GD. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 2,859 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $864,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in General Dynamics by 19.5% during the third quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,486 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $445,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the period. Peak Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the third quarter worth approximately $3,022,000. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 3.9% in the third quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 1,206 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $358,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 22.4% during the 3rd quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,832 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $554,000 after buying an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on GD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $279.00 to $276.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Vertical Research downgraded General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $300.06.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:GD opened at $254.84 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $70.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.68, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $247.01 and a one year high of $316.90. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $264.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $285.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. Analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued 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 presently 41.64%.

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.