Faithward Advisors LLC Trims Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Faithward Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 28.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,200 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 479 shares during the period. Faithward Advisors LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $316,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Purus Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Purus Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,660 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $701,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. increased its position in General Dynamics by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Austin Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in General Dynamics by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Austin Wealth Management LLC now owns 826 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $220,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in General Dynamics by 35.8% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 163 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stokes Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 10,279 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,708,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GD shares. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 target price (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target 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. TD Cowen dropped their target price on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Vertical Research downgraded General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $297.12.

General Dynamics Trading Up 2.6 %

GD opened at $254.09 on Wednesday. General Dynamics Co. has a 12 month low of $239.20 and a 12 month high of $316.90. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $258.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $274.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.63, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43. 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 posted its 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 net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. Sell-side analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were 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 owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Company 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.