General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Sold by Northern Financial Advisors Inc

Northern Financial Advisors Inc reduced its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,444 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 74 shares during the period. Northern Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $907,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its position in General Dynamics by 48.9% in the 4th quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 29,705 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $7,827,000 after purchasing an additional 9,759 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 87,676 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $23,334,000 after purchasing an additional 1,537 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 5,115 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,348,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 2,958 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $779,000 after buying an additional 466 shares during the period. Finally, C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors bought a new position in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,915,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

GD opened at $246.14 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $67.68 billion, a PE ratio of 18.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $263.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $284.85. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $242.86 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released 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 net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. As a group, equities analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’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 value of $459,201.28. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on GD. Wolfe Research downgraded General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 price target (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $298.59.

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.