General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Sold by Verdence Capital Advisors LLC

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,289 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 161 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $2,184,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of GD. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC now owns 2,949 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $777,000 after buying an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth about $4,939,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth about $49,935,000. LVZ Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. LVZ Inc. now owns 2,372 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $625,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 20.4% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 68,777 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $18,122,000 after purchasing an additional 11,669 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GD has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen reduced their target price on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wolfe Research downgraded General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup reduced their target price on General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price target on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.71.

General Dynamics Price Performance

GD stock opened at $262.94 on Thursday. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $239.87 and a 1 year high of $316.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $257.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $280.27. The firm has a market cap of $71.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.28, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.64%.

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.