Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Has $622,000 Stock Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management reduced its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,395 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 44 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $622,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Trading Down 0.2 %

GD opened at $292.74 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $283.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $264.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.88, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.87. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $202.35 and a one year high of $296.50.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $10.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.26 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 16.48%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.64 EPS. Analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.55 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is 46.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on General Dynamics from $280.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Alembic Global Advisors lowered General Dynamics from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $296.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded General Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $305.00 to $335.00 in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on General Dynamics from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, General Dynamics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $300.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Dynamics news, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total transaction of $3,914,215.17. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 103,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,816,065.95. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total value of $14,182,325.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 768,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $218,773,956.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total value of $3,914,215.17. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 103,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,816,065.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 65,987 shares of company stock worth $18,836,700. Company insiders own 1.60% 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.