Welch & Forbes LLC Sells 75 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Welch & Forbes LLC lowered its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,260 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 75 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,122,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC raised its position in General Dynamics by 3.8% in the third quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC now owns 955 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. raised its position in General Dynamics by 0.9% in the third quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,344 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,313,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Purus Wealth Management LLC raised its position in General Dynamics by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Purus Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,660 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $701,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in General Dynamics by 0.5% in the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,450 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,554,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE:GD opened at $271.82 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $73.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.93, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. General Dynamics Co. has a 12-month low of $239.87 and a 12-month high of $316.90. The business’s 50 day moving average is $257.80 and its 200 day moving average is $279.99.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share (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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business 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. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 41.64%.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on GD shares. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on General Dynamics from $244.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Susquehanna cut their price objective on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.