United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Has $25.35 Million Stock Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 7.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 96,221 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 7,915 shares during the period. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $25,353,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 15.3% during 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 General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $607,000. Hickory Point Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $692,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 69.1% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 261,992 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $69,032,000 after buying an additional 107,095 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $550,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GD traded down $0.93 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $275.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,721,990 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,360,450. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market cap of $73.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $239.20 and a one year high of $316.90. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $261.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $273.30.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 EPS 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. This is a positive change from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on GD. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of General Dynamics from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $315.00 to $305.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on General Dynamics from $261.00 to $236.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. William Blair lowered General Dynamics from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $294.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.52% 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.