Chemung Canal Trust Co. Sells 46 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Chemung Canal Trust Co. cut its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,741 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 46 shares during the quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $986,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake 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 worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GD has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $330.00 to $290.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on General Dynamics from $330.00 to $315.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $330.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Vertical Research downgraded General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.88.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GD opened at $266.22 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.20 billion, a PE ratio of 20.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.61. 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 50-day moving average price of $269.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $287.74. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $257.26 and a twelve month high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.04 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.66 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 43.26%.

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

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.