General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Stake Boosted by First National Trust Co

First National Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 140.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,235 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,994 shares during the quarter. First National Trust Co’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $5,859,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

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

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced 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%. Equities analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 43.99%.

General Dynamics announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on GD. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $297.71.

Insider Activity

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

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.