Parallel Advisors LLC Sells 240 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Parallel Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,743 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 240 shares during the quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,250,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Citigroup lowered their price objective on General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on General Dynamics from $244.00 to $261.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, William Blair cut General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $297.71.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE GD opened at $268.11 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $72.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.66, 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 quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $258.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $278.25. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $239.87 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90.

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

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 43.99%.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other General Dynamics news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,297,195.12. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were 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 $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.