General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Sold by Advisory Services Network LLC

Advisory Services Network LLC lowered its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,953 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,409 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $6,311,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GD. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on GD. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. BTIG Research lowered General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Baird R W downgraded General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. William Blair cut shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 price target (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, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $297.12.

General Dynamics Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $254.09 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $258.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $274.44. The stock has a market cap of $68.19 billion, a PE ratio of 18.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. General Dynamics Co. has a 12-month low of $239.20 and a 12-month high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted 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 return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. On average, research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 43.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.