Vontobel Holding Ltd. Cuts Stock Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. lowered its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 20.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 23,835 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 6,283 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $7,203,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GD. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in General Dynamics by 87.6% in the first quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,690 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,150,000 after purchasing an additional 6,858 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the 1st quarter valued at $493,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 147,736 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $41,734,000 after acquiring an additional 3,531 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 291.4% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 96,539 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $27,271,000 after acquiring an additional 71,871 shares during the period. Finally, Peak Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the third quarter valued at about $3,022,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen upgraded General Dynamics to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup upped their target price on General Dynamics from $331.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $333.00 to $352.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $345.00 price objective on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $320.00 to $314.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $320.18.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.05, for a total transaction of $406,626.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,106,515.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $308.29 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $232.29 and a 1 year high of $309.97. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $299.03 and its 200 day moving average is $294.14. The stock has a market cap of $84.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.15, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.30 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $11.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.46 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 7.89%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.70 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 11th will be paid a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.33%.

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.