Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. Sells 152 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. lowered its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,912 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 152 shares during the period. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,558,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,689 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,553,000 after acquiring an additional 1,283 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 67.6% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,546 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,583,000 after purchasing an additional 3,448 shares during the period. Olstein Capital Management L.P. increased its position in General Dynamics by 36.4% in the third quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 15,000 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,533,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth about $607,000. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 37,074 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $11,204,000 after buying an additional 3,363 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on GD. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of 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. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered 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 note on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays decreased their price target on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $298.59.

General Dynamics Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE GD opened at $241.98 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a 12-month low of $239.87 and a 12-month high of $316.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $261.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $284.19.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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, equities research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were given a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.64%.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’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 $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

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.