Valeo Financial Advisors LLC Sells 67 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lowered its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,196 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 67 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,633,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GD. Creative Planning lifted its position in General Dynamics by 4.2% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 46,948 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $14,188,000 after purchasing an additional 1,906 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 2.3% in the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 6,808 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,057,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Marshall Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter valued at $582,000. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 7,101 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,146,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 6.2% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 25,354 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $7,662,000 after acquiring an additional 1,476 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Trading Down 1.7 %

NYSE GD opened at $241.98 on Friday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $261.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $284.25. The stock has a market cap of $65.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.61.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 target price (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $283.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, BTIG Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given 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.com, General Dynamics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $298.59.

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.