General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Sold by Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC

Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 61.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,356 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 5,327 shares during the period. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $884,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Diversified Trust Co increased its position in General Dynamics by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 2,221 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $585,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Capital Market Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital Market Strategies LLC now owns 1,492 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $393,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 1,683 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in General Dynamics by 17.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 297,577 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $89,928,000 after purchasing an additional 44,387 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FFG Partners LLC boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. FFG Partners LLC now owns 19,875 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,006,000 after purchasing an additional 668 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Dynamics Price Performance

GD stock traded up $3.28 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $261.27. The stock had a trading volume of 477,610 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,350,715. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $247.36 and a 1-year high of $316.90. The stock has a market cap of $71.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $279.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $290.01. 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 (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.48 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.65 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.04 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 43.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $322.00 to $295.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Vertical Research downgraded General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen raised General Dynamics to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded General Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $283.00 to $245.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $311.29.

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.