XML Financial LLC Has $1.96 Million Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

XML Financial LLC cut its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,455 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 797 shares during the quarter. XML Financial LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,964,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Simon Quick Advisors LLC grew its position in General Dynamics by 23.2% in the 4th quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 892 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $235,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 96.2% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,158 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $569,000 after acquiring an additional 1,058 shares in the last quarter. Commons Capital LLC lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Commons Capital LLC now owns 3,066 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $808,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at $387,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GD has been the topic of several research reports. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $295.00 to $279.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Cowen upgraded General Dynamics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Vertical Research downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $330.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $304.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD opened at $271.30 on Wednesday. General Dynamics Co. has a 12-month low of $247.88 and a 12-month high of $316.90. The company has a market cap of $74.60 billion, a PE ratio of 20.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $271.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $288.09.

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 company had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.65 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 7.90%. The business’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.04 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.26%.

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

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.