ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC Has $2.55 Million Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC lessened its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 9,677 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 85 shares during the period. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $2,550,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 241.7% during the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Coston McIsaac & Partners grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 22.8% in the third quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 178 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

GD traded up $1.44 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $266.56. The stock had a trading volume of 49,826 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,285,667. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $275.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $288.61. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $247.36 and a twelve month high of $316.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.30, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.48 by ($0.13). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 7.90%. The company had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.04 EPS. The business’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 13.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 43.26%.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $331.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $295.00 to $279.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wolfe Research downgraded General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $304.53.

Insider Activity

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