Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC Decreases Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 8.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,594 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 154 shares during the period. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $420,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GD. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,689 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,553,000 after purchasing an additional 1,283 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 67.6% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,546 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,583,000 after buying an additional 3,448 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $607,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its stake in General Dynamics by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 37,074 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $11,204,000 after buying an additional 3,363 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hickory Point Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $692,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wolfe Research cut shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on General Dynamics from $244.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.71.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GD opened at $271.82 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $239.87 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The business has a 50-day moving average of $257.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $279.88.

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 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, equities research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 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.