United Bank Has $1.84 Million Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

United Bank grew its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 21.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,992 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,216 shares during the quarter. United Bank’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,842,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in GD. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,307,612,000 after buying an additional 943,247 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $197,238,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,780,078 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,265,813,000 after purchasing an additional 706,317 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,674,998,000 after purchasing an additional 638,342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 117.0% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 858,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $259,469,000 after purchasing an additional 463,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Trading Down 0.2 %

General Dynamics stock opened at $268.99 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $258.73 and a 200-day moving average of $276.76. 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 current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $72.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.99%.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. William Blair cut General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Baird R W cut shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, BTIG Research cut shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One 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 data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.71.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now 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. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.