Transcend Capital Advisors LLC Sells 1,900 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Transcend Capital Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 19.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,016 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,900 shares during the period. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $2,112,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in GD. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Financial Perspectives Inc lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 195.0% during the 4th quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 118 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. William Blair downgraded shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen decreased their target price on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $298.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GD opened at $243.02 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $259.68 and a 200-day moving average of $282.54. General Dynamics Co. has a 12 month low of $239.87 and a 12 month high of $316.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.70 billion, a PE ratio of 17.82, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.61.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 EPS 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were paid a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.64%.

General Dynamics announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.