NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC trimmed its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 59,905 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 189 shares during the quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $15,784,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,689 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,553,000 after purchasing an additional 1,283 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $607,000. Hickory Point Bank & Trust purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $692,000. Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $550,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in General Dynamics by 45.4% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 80,565 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $21,228,000 after acquiring an additional 25,144 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the business’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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,297,195.12. The trade was a 37.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on GD. Argus set a $295.00 price objective on General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays lowered 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. Citigroup lowered their price objective on General Dynamics from $335.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. William Blair lowered General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on General Dynamics from $268.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $293.00.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE:GD opened at $279.30 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $271.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $267.75. The company has a market cap of $74.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.49. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $239.20 and a 52 week high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.43 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $12.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.92 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. The company’s revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th were paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

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.