First National Trust Co Boosts Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

First National Trust Co increased its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 140.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,235 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,994 shares during the period. First National Trust Co’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $5,859,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, BTIG Research downgraded General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $297.71.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE:GD opened at $260.87 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.13, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $257.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $279.18. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $239.87 and a 1-year high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.99%.

General Dynamics declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total transaction of $7,499,895.82. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

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.