Somerset Trust Co Acquires 354 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Somerset Trust Co lifted its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,502 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the quarter. General Dynamics comprises about 1.4% of Somerset Trust Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Somerset Trust Co’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $3,821,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GD. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 241.7% in the 3rd 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 purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the third quarter worth $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics during the third quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Coston McIsaac & Partners increased its position in General Dynamics by 22.8% during the third quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 178 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

General Dynamics Price Performance

NYSE:GD opened at $266.86 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $273.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $288.32. The firm has a market cap of $73.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $247.36 and a 1-year high of $316.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its 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). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. The company had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.04 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.81 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.26%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded General Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $283.00 to $245.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wolfe Research cut shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Baird R W lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.53.

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.