Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. Buys 1,800 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,032 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $7,123,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 241.7% during the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.6 %

GD opened at $243.95 on Thursday. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $239.87 and a twelve month high of $316.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.88, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $260.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $283.10.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.64%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on GD shares. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 note on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $283.00 target price (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $298.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.