General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Sold by Valley Brook Capital Group Inc.

Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. lowered its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 16.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,316 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 250 shares during the quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $347,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GD. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 241.7% in the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Dynamics Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE GD opened at $256.92 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $264.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $285.32. The company has a market cap of $70.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. General Dynamics Co. has a 12-month low of $247.01 and a 12-month high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. Equities research analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.84 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were given a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 price target (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Baird R W downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $298.59.

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.