Virtue Capital Management LLC Has $486,000 Stock Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Virtue Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 6.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,609 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 102 shares during the quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $486,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Coston McIsaac & Partners increased its position in General Dynamics by 22.8% during the 3rd quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 178 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 2.3% during the third quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 1,482 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $448,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 10.6% during the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 354 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,223 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $672,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Modera Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,120 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,356,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.05, for a total transaction of $406,626.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,592 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,515.60. The trade was a 26.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on GD. Seaport Res Ptn cut General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Barclays upped their price objective on General Dynamics from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $309.00 to $306.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen upgraded shares of General Dynamics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $322.00.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

GD stock opened at $265.43 on Thursday. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $247.36 and a 1-year high of $316.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $294.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $294.40. The firm has a market cap of $72.98 billion, a PE ratio of 20.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.59.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.48 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.65 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. General Dynamics’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.04 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.26%.

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.