Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. Trims Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. lowered its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 41.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,997 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,425 shares during the quarter. Barlow Wealth Partners Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $531,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in General Dynamics by 40,389.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,379,472 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $416,876,000 after purchasing an additional 1,376,065 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,307,612,000 after purchasing an additional 943,247 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 13.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,674,998,000 after buying an additional 638,342 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in General Dynamics by 117.0% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 858,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $259,469,000 after buying an additional 463,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 43.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 942,485 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $284,818,000 after buying an additional 283,972 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:GD opened at $271.30 on Wednesday. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $247.88 and a 1 year high of $316.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $271.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $288.09. The company has a market cap of $74.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.66, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.04 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.73 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen raised General Dynamics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Vertical Research cut shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.88.

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.