General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Bought by American Trust

American Trust lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 43.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,766 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 833 shares during the quarter. American Trust’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $836,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 241.7% in the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics during the second quarter worth $29,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 120.0% during the second quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:GD opened at $263.04 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $292.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $293.98. General Dynamics Co. has a 52-week low of $247.36 and a 52-week high of $316.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $72.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.59.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.48 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.65 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 7.90%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.04 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 43.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Dynamics news, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.05, for a total value of $406,626.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,106,515.60. The trade was a 26.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $309.00 to $306.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. TD Cowen upgraded General Dynamics to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut General Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $283.00 to $245.00 in a report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on General Dynamics from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $317.38.

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.