General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Sold by Thrive Wealth Management LLC

Thrive Wealth Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,961 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 99 shares during the period. Thrive Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $517,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GD. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in General Dynamics by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,205,330 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,292,851,000 after purchasing an additional 109,618 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 9.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,307,612,000 after acquiring an additional 943,247 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,829,662 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,366,124,000 after purchasing an additional 189,904 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,674,998,000 after acquiring an additional 638,342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in General Dynamics by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,940,537 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,493,030,000 after purchasing an additional 24,464 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on GD shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $295.00 to $279.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Cowen raised General Dynamics to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 target price (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Vertical Research downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $304.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD opened at $266.86 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $73.38 billion, a PE ratio of 20.32, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $247.36 and a 1 year high of $316.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $272.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $288.19.

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 the consensus estimate of $3.48 by ($0.13). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. The business had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.04 EPS. General Dynamics’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.81 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.26%.

General Dynamics declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.