Pacific Wealth Management Sells 1,367 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Pacific Wealth Management trimmed its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 26.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,706 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,367 shares during the quarter. General Dynamics comprises 0.5% of Pacific Wealth Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Pacific Wealth Management’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $962,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 99.3% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 29,045 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $7,542,000 after purchasing an additional 14,468 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the third quarter worth about $16,077,000. Moreno Evelyn V increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. Moreno Evelyn V now owns 27,310 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,035,000 after buying an additional 3,991 shares during the period. Clough Capital Partners L P purchased a new position in General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,868,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 57.7% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 326,121 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $72,063,000 after acquiring an additional 119,264 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.6 %

GD stock traded up $1.72 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $286.18. 177,781 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,062,528. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $202.35 and a 1-year high of $296.50. The company has a market cap of $78.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.68. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $278.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $258.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.44.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.68 by ($0.04). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.84% and a return on equity of 16.61%. The firm had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.58 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.57 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on GD shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on General Dynamics from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Susquehanna boosted their price target on General Dynamics from $301.00 to $333.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $286.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Barclays raised their target price on General Dynamics from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $253.00 to $284.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other news, EVP Mark C. Roualet sold 73,330 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.75, for a total transaction of $19,414,117.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 149,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,502,023.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other General Dynamics news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,355 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.31, for a total value of $8,551,750.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 773,977 shares in the company, valued at $204,569,860.87. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Mark C. Roualet sold 73,330 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.75, for a total value of $19,414,117.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 149,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,502,023.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.