Parallel Advisors LLC Lowers Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Parallel Advisors LLC trimmed its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and 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 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. William Blair cut General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Vertical Research cut General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wolfe Research cut General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.71.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 45,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of GD stock opened at $268.11 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $258.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $278.25. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $72.48 billion, a PE ratio of 19.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. Equities analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. 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. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.99%.

General Dynamics announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program 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 programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.