Huntington National Bank Sells 902 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Huntington National Bank cut its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,586 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 902 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $4,634,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Purus Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Purus Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,660 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $701,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. grew its stake in General Dynamics by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $277,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Austin Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in General Dynamics by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Austin Wealth Management LLC now owns 826 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $220,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in General Dynamics by 35.8% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 163 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stokes Family Office LLC raised its stake in General Dynamics by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 10,279 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,708,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

General Dynamics stock opened at $276.14 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $259.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $276.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $239.87 and a 1 year high of $316.90.

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

General Dynamics announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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 issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.99%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. This 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 the SEC website. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction 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 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. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 target price (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. William Blair cut shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on General Dynamics from $244.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $298.59.

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.