Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Reduces Stock Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC cut its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 0.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,734 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 157 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $9,590,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,381,000. Zacks Investment Management grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 315,643 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $95,387,000 after acquiring an additional 32,064 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 79.1% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 155,953 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $47,129,000 after purchasing an additional 68,896 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 18,251 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,516,000 after purchasing an additional 511 shares during the period. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its position in General Dynamics by 116.8% during the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 37,001 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $10,298,000 after purchasing an additional 19,932 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of GD stock opened at $271.80 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.70, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.59. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $295.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $294.82. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $247.36 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by ($0.13). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. The company had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.04 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.05, for a total transaction of $406,626.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,106,515.60. The trade was a 26.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on GD. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $331.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of General Dynamics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $333.00 to $352.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.69.

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.