Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Sells 236 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lessened its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 29.2% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 573 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 236 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $166,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of GD. Norges Bank bought a new position in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $728,284,000. Verity & Verity LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $179,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 3,645.4% during the 4th quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 558,586 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $145,048,000 after acquiring an additional 543,672 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 879.9% during the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 340,359 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $96,148,000 after acquiring an additional 305,624 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Junto Capital Management LP bought a new position in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,733,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD stock traded up $2.56 on Thursday, hitting $299.20. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 652,413 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,054,567. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.33. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $290.68 and its 200-day moving average is $287.56. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $214.53 and a fifty-two week high of $302.75. The company has a market capitalization of $82.09 billion, a PE ratio of 24.20, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.60.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.30 by ($0.04). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.89% and a return on equity of 16.74%. The business had revenue of $11.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.70 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 11th will be paid a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 11th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 46.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on GD. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Monday, July 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Robert W. Baird restated an “outperform” rating and set a $345.00 target price on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $345.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $315.06.

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.