First American Trust FSB Reduces Stock Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

First American Trust FSB lessened its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 87.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,300 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 16,040 shares during the period. First American Trust FSB’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $606,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,689 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,553,000 after acquiring an additional 1,283 shares during the period. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth about $607,000. Hickory Point Bank & Trust bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth about $692,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 69.1% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 261,992 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $69,032,000 after buying an additional 107,095 shares during the period. Finally, Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $550,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $265.94 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $71.90 billion, a PE ratio of 19.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $258.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $277.45. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $239.87 and a one year high of $316.90. 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 (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. Research analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.99%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Vertical Research cut shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven 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 a consensus price target of $297.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.