Wealth Advisors of Tampa Bay LLC Increases Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Wealth Advisors of Tampa Bay LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 14.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 9,543 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,221 shares during the period. Wealth Advisors of Tampa Bay LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $2,514,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in GD. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

General Dynamics Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:GD opened at $269.27 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $259.07 and a 200 day moving average of $276.14. The company has a market cap of $72.27 billion, a PE ratio of 19.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43. 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.

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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on GD. Wolfe Research cut General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Vertical Research downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $298.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

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

General Dynamics Company 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.