General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Position Lessened by ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC

ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC trimmed its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 4.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,225 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 452 shares during the period. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $2,515,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in General Dynamics by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,689 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,553,000 after buying an additional 1,283 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $607,000. Hickory Point Bank & Trust acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $692,000. Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $550,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in General Dynamics by 45.4% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 80,565 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $21,228,000 after buying an additional 25,144 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of General Dynamics 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. The trade was a 37.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.7%

GD stock opened at $276.43 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $239.20 and a twelve month high of $316.90. The company has a market cap of $74.19 billion, a PE ratio of 20.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.49. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $272.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $266.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.43 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $12.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.92 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. General Dynamics’s quarterly revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.88 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is 41.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on GD. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $335.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $300.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $261.00 to $236.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. BTIG Research downgraded General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on General Dynamics from $268.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $293.00.

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.