Transform Wealth LLC Reduces Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Transform Wealth LLC lowered its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 66.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 839 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,699 shares during the period. Transform Wealth LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $237,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Eudaimonia Partners LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $240,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 188.3% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 40,830 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $10,602,000 after acquiring an additional 26,668 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 99.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 29,045 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $7,542,000 after acquiring an additional 14,468 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,056,000. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $16,077,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Trading Down 0.6 %

GD stock traded down $1.69 during trading on Friday, reaching $290.81. 554,462 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,041,138. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $294.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $277.37. General Dynamics Co. has a 52-week low of $210.65 and a 52-week high of $302.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.79 billion, a PE ratio of 23.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.64.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.89 by ($0.01). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 7.85%. The company had revenue of $10.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.64 EPS. General Dynamics’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.55 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on General Dynamics from $253.00 to $284.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on General Dynamics from $325.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Citigroup upped their target price on General Dynamics from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Argus upped their target price on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price target on General Dynamics from $301.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $303.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Dynamics news, CFO Kimberly A. Kuryea sold 13,344 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.16, for a total transaction of $3,978,647.04. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 79,255 shares in the company, valued at $23,630,670.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CFO Kimberly A. Kuryea sold 13,344 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.16, for a total transaction of $3,978,647.04. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 79,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,630,670.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total value of $3,914,215.17. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 103,345 shares in the company, valued at $29,816,065.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 118,486 shares of company stock worth $34,391,642. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.