Pathstone Holdings LLC Reduces Stock Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Pathstone Holdings LLC lowered its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,627 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 1,535 shares during the quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $7,806,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GD. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in General Dynamics by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,689 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,553,000 after acquiring an additional 1,283 shares during the period. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $607,000. Hickory Point Bank & Trust bought a new position in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $692,000. Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $550,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in General Dynamics by 45.4% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 80,565 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $21,228,000 after purchasing an additional 25,144 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on GD shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on General Dynamics from $261.00 to $236.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased 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. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, April 24th. BTIG Research downgraded General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, William Blair lowered General Dynamics from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. One equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $293.00.

General Dynamics Price Performance

GD traded up $0.01 on Tuesday, reaching $281.38. 734,669 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,373,245. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $239.20 and a twelve month high of $316.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market cap of $75.52 billion, a PE ratio of 20.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.49. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $270.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $268.57.

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

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th were issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. This is an increase from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

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.