General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Sold by Atlas Capital Advisors Inc.

Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. cut its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 9.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 435 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 48 shares during the quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $115,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. United Bank grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 4.0% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 5,776 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,746,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 285,680 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $86,348,000 after acquiring an additional 6,760 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,809,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 116.8% during the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 37,001 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $10,298,000 after purchasing an additional 19,932 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 2.9% in the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 18,251 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,516,000 after purchasing an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price objective (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. BTIG Research cut General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on General Dynamics from $244.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $298.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at $12,297,195.12. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Down 7.3 %

General Dynamics stock opened at $249.94 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $258.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $275.54. The company has a market cap of $67.08 billion, a PE ratio of 18.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $239.87 and a 1-year high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 43.99%.

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.