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

Ritholtz Wealth Management cut its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,736 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 290 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $2,829,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Coston McIsaac & Partners boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 22.8% in the third quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 178 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 1,482 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 10.6% in the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 354 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 1.6% during the third quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,223 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Jeppson Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 3.8% in the third quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC now owns 955 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:GD opened at $266.86 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.38 billion, a PE ratio of 20.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.32. General Dynamics Co. has a 52-week low of $247.36 and a 52-week high of $316.90. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $273.71 and a 200 day moving average of $288.32.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.65 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 7.90%. General Dynamics’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.04 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 43.26%.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on GD shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $330.00 to $290.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Baird R W lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $330.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 target price (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wolfe Research cut General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $304.53.

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.