General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Sold by Richwood Investment Advisors LLC

Richwood Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,273 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $862,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Community Bank N.A. lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 0.6% in the third quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 5,461 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,650,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 0.9% during the third quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,344 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,313,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Purus Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Purus Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,660 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $701,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 4.2% during the third quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY now owns 1,012 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.9 %

GD stock opened at $263.30 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $258.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $277.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.18 billion, a PE ratio of 19.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. General Dynamics Co. has a 12 month low of $239.87 and a 12 month high of $316.90. 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 (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings results 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%. Equities analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.99%.

General Dynamics declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on GD. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price target (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wolfe Research cut shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 price target (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction of $459,201.28. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the firm’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 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. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.