BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC Has $557,000 Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 9.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,115 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 221 shares during the period. BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $557,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Trading Up 1.3 %

GD opened at $265.33 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $258.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $278.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market cap of $71.73 billion, a PE ratio of 19.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $239.87 and a twelve month high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its 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 return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. Equities research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the sale, the director now directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total transaction of $7,499,895.82. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on GD shares. Baird R W cut shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $283.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced 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. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $244.00 to $261.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen 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 an average price target of $297.71.

General Dynamics 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.