Bath Savings Trust Co Lowers Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Bath Savings Trust Co lessened its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 13,032 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 583 shares during the period. Bath Savings Trust Co’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $3,434,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GD. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 67.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,546 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,583,000 after purchasing an additional 3,448 shares in the last quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 36.4% in the third quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 15,000 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,533,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 10.0% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 37,074 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $11,204,000 after buying an additional 3,363 shares in the last quarter. Lummis Asset Management LP raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 32.6% in the third quarter. Lummis Asset Management LP now owns 10,368 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,133,000 after buying an additional 2,551 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 17.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 297,577 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $89,928,000 after buying an additional 44,387 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Up 1.0 %

GD stock traded up $2.56 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $260.55. 553,376 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,367,662. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.84, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a 52-week low of $247.36 and a 52-week high of $316.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $279.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $290.01.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by ($0.13). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. The company had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.65 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.04 earnings per share. General Dynamics’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.84 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 43.26%.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on General Dynamics from $330.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Susquehanna increased their price target on General Dynamics from $333.00 to $352.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $331.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $311.29.

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.