Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Sells 1,477 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. cut its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 37.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,471 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,477 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $651,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GD. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 241.7% during the 3rd 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 period. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Dynamics Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:GD opened at $256.80 on Tuesday. General Dynamics Co. has a 12-month low of $247.01 and a 12-month high of $316.90. The company has a market capitalization of $70.61 billion, a PE ratio of 18.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $267.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $286.76.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is 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 paid a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 41.64%.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on GD. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 target price (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on General Dynamics from $279.00 to $276.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $301.24.

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.