Apollon Wealth Management LLC Has $5.44 Million Stock Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC reduced its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,656 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 735 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $5,443,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GD. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC increased its position in General Dynamics by 44.4% in the 4th quarter. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC now owns 2,313 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $609,000 after buying an additional 711 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC increased its position in General Dynamics by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 189,006 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $49,801,000 after acquiring an additional 17,115 shares during the period. Conning Inc. raised its stake in General Dynamics by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 132,922 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $35,024,000 after purchasing an additional 6,848 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at $60,000. Finally, FFG Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. FFG Partners LLC now owns 20,348 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,362,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

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

General Dynamics Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE GD opened at $254.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $264.47 and its 200-day moving average is $285.62. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $247.01 and a one year high of $316.90. The firm has a market cap of $70.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.61.

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 return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were paid a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is 41.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on GD. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Vertical Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on General Dynamics from $354.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $300.06.

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.