Patten & Patten Inc. TN Buys 243 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Patten & Patten Inc. TN grew its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 13.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,073 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $546,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. United Bank increased its position in General Dynamics by 4.0% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 5,776 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,746,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the period. Curi RMB Capital LLC increased its position in General Dynamics by 9.6% during the third quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $314,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in General Dynamics by 3.6% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,406 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,540,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems increased its position in General Dynamics by 4.9% during the third quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 17,965 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,429,000 after acquiring an additional 832 shares during the period. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund increased its position in General Dynamics by 4.1% during the third quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 7,635 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,307,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Baird R W lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. 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. Finally, BTIG Research downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $297.71.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE:GD opened at $262.19 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $257.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $278.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $239.87 and a one year high of $316.90. The company has a market cap of $70.88 billion, a PE ratio of 19.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59.

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

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. 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 2.29%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.99%.

General Dynamics declared that its board has initiated 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 reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Dynamics news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total transaction of $7,499,895.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.