1ST Source Bank Cuts Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

1ST Source Bank reduced its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,835 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 96 shares during the period. 1ST Source Bank’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $2,064,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 9,518 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,508,000 after acquiring an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 39,624 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $10,441,000 after acquiring an additional 6,058 shares during the last quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 4,272 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,126,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Glenview Trust co boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 11,228 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,958,000 after acquiring an additional 993 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patten & Patten Inc. TN boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 2,073 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $546,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $262.19 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $70.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. General Dynamics Co. has a 12 month low of $239.87 and a 12 month high of $316.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $257.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $278.77.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. On average, equities research analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 43.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was 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 approximately $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at $12,297,195.12. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on General Dynamics from $244.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $297.71.

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.