Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC Trims Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,406 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 99 shares during the quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $370,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in GD. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in General Dynamics by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,205,330 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,292,851,000 after acquiring an additional 109,618 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 9.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,307,612,000 after purchasing an additional 943,247 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 2.5% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,829,662 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,366,124,000 after buying an additional 189,904 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 13.0% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,940,537 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,493,030,000 after acquiring an additional 24,464 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

GD opened at $266.86 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $272.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $288.21. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $247.36 and a 1 year high of $316.90. The stock has a market cap of $73.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.48 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.65 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 7.90%. The company’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.04 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.81 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 43.26%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on GD. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 target price (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of General Dynamics to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.53.

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.