Nixon Peabody Trust Co. Increases Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Nixon Peabody Trust Co. increased its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 56,097 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 323 shares during the quarter. General Dynamics makes up 1.2% of Nixon Peabody Trust Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Nixon Peabody Trust Co.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $14,781,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Trading Up 0.5 %

GD opened at $252.87 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $68.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a 12 month low of $239.87 and a 12 month high of $316.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $258.31 and a 200 day moving average of $281.17.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan 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 plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were given a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other news, 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 target price (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on General Dynamics from $276.00 to $244.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.71.

General Dynamics Company 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.