Thomasville National Bank Boosts Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Thomasville National Bank raised its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 72,386 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,242 shares during the period. General Dynamics makes up approximately 1.4% of Thomasville National Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Thomasville National Bank’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $19,073,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 241.7% in the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 385.2% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 131 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on GD. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $330.00 to $290.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of General Dynamics to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $330.00 to $315.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of General Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $283.00 to $245.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, General Dynamics has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $308.18.

General Dynamics Price Performance

GD stock traded up $3.74 during trading on Monday, reaching $263.12. 345,066 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,341,611. The company has a market cap of $72.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.04, 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $276.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $288.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.32.

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

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

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.26%.

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.