Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC reduced its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,979 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 98 shares during the period. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,839,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 241.7% during the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE GD opened at $246.25 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.57 billion, a PE ratio of 18.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $260.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $282.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $239.87 and a 1-year high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share 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, research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on GD shares. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $298.59.

General Dynamics Company Profile

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.