M&T Bank Corp Has $13.79 Million Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

M&T Bank Corp cut its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,320 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,036 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $13,786,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,283 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 3,448 shares during the last quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 36.4% during the 3rd quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 15,000 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,533,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $607,000. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 3,363 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of GD stock opened at $262.94 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $239.87 and a twelve month high of $316.90. The company has a market cap of $71.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $257.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $280.27.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.64%.

General Dynamics declared that its board has approved 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 repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on GD. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $276.00 to $244.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics 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.