Truist Financial Corp Lowers Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Truist Financial Corp lessened its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 298,464 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 9,237 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $78,642,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GD. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 58,289 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $15,348,000 after purchasing an additional 1,772 shares in the last quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its stake in General Dynamics by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 3,810 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,004,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 5,346 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,409,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $96,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $231,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

GD opened at $241.98 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $261.96 and its 200 day moving average is $284.09. 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 company has a market cap of $66.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.74, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a 12-month low of $239.87 and a 12-month high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.84 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase 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 a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Dynamics news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at $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. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GD. Citigroup dropped 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. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on 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, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $298.59.

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.