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

Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund 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 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 703 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $212,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,168 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $655,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the third quarter valued at about $447,000. Waldron Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 10.2% during the third quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 768 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $232,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 8.2% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 18,167 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,490,000 after acquiring an additional 1,374 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on GD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research cut General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $298.59.

General Dynamics Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of GD stock opened at $246.25 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $239.87 and a 1 year high of $316.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $260.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $282.84. 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 capitalization of $66.57 billion, a PE ratio of 18.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.61.

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

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is 41.64%.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About General Dynamics

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.