Main Street Financial Solutions LLC Sells 1,748 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Main Street Financial Solutions LLC trimmed its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 55.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,430 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 1,748 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $377,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in GD. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 1,283 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $607,000. Hickory Point Bank & Trust acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $692,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 69.1% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 261,992 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $69,032,000 after acquiring an additional 107,095 shares during the period. Finally, Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $550,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GD traded down $8.28 on Wednesday, hitting $266.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 740,525 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,368,244. The company has a market capitalization of $71.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43. The stock's 50-day moving average is $262.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $272.52. General Dynamics Co. has a 12 month low of $239.20 and a 12 month high of $316.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.43 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $12.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.92 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This is a positive change from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on GD shares. 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. Morgan Stanley cut shares of General Dynamics from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $315.00 to $305.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on General Dynamics from $335.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. One 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $294.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Dynamics news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total transaction of $7,499,895.82. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

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.