Spire Wealth Management Cuts Stock Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Spire Wealth Management lowered its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 41.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,783 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 3,342 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,260,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 241.7% during the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on General Dynamics from $279.00 to $276.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Baird R W downgraded General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price target (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target 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. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $301.24.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

NYSE:GD opened at $256.80 on Tuesday. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $267.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $286.76. The stock has a market cap of $70.61 billion, a PE ratio of 18.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $247.01 and a 52 week high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued 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 return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. As a group, analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.64%.

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

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.