General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Stake Increased by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 63.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,009 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 1,559 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,056,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 4.6% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 45,042 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $13,068,000 after purchasing an additional 1,988 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 19.5% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 38,038 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $11,036,000 after purchasing an additional 6,205 shares during the period. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 85.0% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 283 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the second quarter worth $290,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 36.2% in the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,740 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,147,000 after purchasing an additional 4,711 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other 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 value of $1,556,241.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on GD shares. Vertical Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group decreased 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 report on Tuesday. Wolfe Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $354.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $330.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $303.28.

General Dynamics Price Performance

GD stock opened at $262.33 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $257.26 and a one year high of $316.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.13 billion, a PE ratio of 19.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $268.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $287.64.

General Dynamics declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.26%.

General Dynamics 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.