Heritage Wealth Advisors Sells 2,166 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Heritage Wealth Advisors cut its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 53.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,902 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 2,166 shares during the period. Heritage Wealth Advisors’ holdings in General Dynamics were worth $501,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total transaction of $7,499,895.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $267.61 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $239.87 and a 52 week high of $316.90. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $258.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $277.27. The company has a market capitalization of $72.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.62, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59.

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

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

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 43.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered 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 report on Thursday, January 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 price target (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $297.71.

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.