Heritage Wealth Advisors Sells 2,166 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Heritage Wealth Advisors trimmed its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 53.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,902 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 2,166 shares during the period. Heritage Wealth Advisors’ holdings in General Dynamics were worth $501,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GD. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In related news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at $12,297,195.12. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on GD shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $244.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $297.71.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD stock opened at $267.61 on Wednesday. General Dynamics Co. has a 12-month low of $239.87 and a 12-month high of $316.90. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $258.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $277.27. 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 company has a market cap of $72.35 billion, a PE ratio of 19.62, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. Analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.99%.

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.