Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. Reduces Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. trimmed its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 9.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,561 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 172 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $411,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,283 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at $607,000. Hickory Point Bank & Trust acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at $692,000. Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at $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 during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.8%

GD stock opened at $274.93 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $73.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.49. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $239.20 and a 52 week high of $316.90. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $271.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $267.67. 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 (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.43 by $0.23. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. The firm had revenue of $12.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.88 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th were issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 11th. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is 41.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Argus set a $295.00 price objective on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $268.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. TD Securities lifted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, BTIG Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $293.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,297,195.12. This represents a 37.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.