Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Reduces Holdings in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lessened its holdings in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) by 7.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,439 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 417 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,483,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Retirement Guys Formula LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,692,000. Advisory Resource Group raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 7.1% in the first quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 19,200 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,234,000 after buying an additional 1,276 shares during the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 18.9% during the first quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 16,144 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,401,000 after buying an additional 2,568 shares during the period. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY boosted its position in General Dynamics by 31.6% during the first quarter. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY now owns 33,644 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $9,171,000 after acquiring an additional 8,073 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. grew its stake in General Dynamics by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 16,522 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,504,000 after acquiring an additional 1,704 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Citigroup raised their price target on General Dynamics from $348.00 to $368.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $325.00 price target on General Dynamics and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. TD Securities increased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Argus set a $295.00 target price on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $315.78.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $310.45 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $291.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $273.88. The stock has a market cap of $83.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.48. General Dynamics Corporation has a twelve month low of $239.20 and a twelve month high of $322.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $13.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.13 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.99% and a net margin of 8.13%. The company’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.26 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Corporation will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.27%.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 43,860 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.28, for a total value of $13,696,600.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,452,165. The trade was a 52.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 7,639 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.44, for a total value of $2,142,281.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 769,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $215,828,587.08. This trade represents a 0.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 268,370 shares of company stock valued at $78,408,011. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Company 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.