Gray Wealth Management Inc. Cuts Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Gray Wealth Management Inc. cut its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,773 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 41 shares during the quarter. Gray Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $460,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Xponance Inc. boosted its position in General Dynamics by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 34,274 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $8,900,000 after acquiring an additional 1,585 shares in the last quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV boosted its position in General Dynamics by 32.0% during the fourth quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV now owns 1,650 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $415,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $290,000. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at about $217,000. Finally, Court Place Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at about $207,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE GD traded up $0.81 on Thursday, hitting $285.27. 600,701 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,068,297. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.27 billion, a PE ratio of 23.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.68. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $202.35 and a 1-year high of $296.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $278.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $258.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.68 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.39 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.84% and a return on equity of 16.61%. General Dynamics’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.58 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.57 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th will be paid a $1.42 dividend. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 47.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Dynamics news, EVP Mark C. Roualet sold 73,330 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.75, for a total value of $19,414,117.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 149,205 shares in the company, valued at $39,502,023.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other General Dynamics news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,355 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.31, for a total transaction of $8,551,750.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 773,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $204,569,860.87. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark C. Roualet sold 73,330 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.75, for a total transaction of $19,414,117.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 149,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,502,023.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on GD shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $286.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Alembic Global Advisors lowered General Dynamics from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $296.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on General Dynamics from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Susquehanna increased their price target on General Dynamics from $301.00 to $333.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.80.

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.