Equitable Trust Co. Cuts Stock Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Equitable Trust Co. decreased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 17.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,796 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 3,015 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $3,635,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GD. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 241.7% during the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on GD. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 target price (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $354.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $279.00 to $276.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Vertical Research downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, General Dynamics has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $300.06.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE:GD opened at $254.84 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37. The company has a fifty day moving average of $264.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $285.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.07 billion, a PE ratio of 18.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $247.01 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. As a group, research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were given a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 41.64%.

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.