PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Sells 6,137 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 209,923 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 6,137 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned 0.08% of General Dynamics worth $55,313,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,689 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,553,000 after buying an additional 1,283 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 67.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,546 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,583,000 after buying an additional 3,448 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $607,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 37,074 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $11,204,000 after purchasing an additional 3,363 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hickory Point Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $692,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Up 2.7 %

GD opened at $271.82 on Monday. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $239.87 and a one year high of $316.90. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $73.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $257.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $279.78.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities research analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 41.64%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GD. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Vertical Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $297.71.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.