Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. Cuts Stock Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. decreased its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 16.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,036 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 211 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $269,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,423,961 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,955,023,000 after purchasing an additional 133,061 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,360,526 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,615,185,000 after buying an additional 1,755,276 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 4,017,057 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $887,649,000 after acquiring an additional 17,061 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,293,269 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $506,744,000 after acquiring an additional 275,947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 4.5% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,258,362 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $499,030,000 after purchasing an additional 97,789 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In related news, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total value of $3,914,215.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 103,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,816,065.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other General Dynamics news, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total value of $3,914,215.17. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 103,345 shares in the company, valued at $29,816,065.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total transaction of $14,182,325.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 768,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $218,773,956.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

General Dynamics stock opened at $291.37 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $79.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $282.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $264.06. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $202.35 and a 1 year high of $296.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.89 by ($0.01). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 7.85%. The firm had revenue of $10.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.55 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $305.00 to $335.00 in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Alembic Global Advisors cut General Dynamics from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $296.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Argus raised their price objective on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Barclays increased their price target on General Dynamics from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $325.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $300.53.

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.