Keybank National Association OH Reduces Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Keybank National Association OH reduced its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 16,496 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 486 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $4,347,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GD. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $276.00 to $244.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 SEC, which is available through this link. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

General Dynamics Trading Up 4.8 %

Shares of GD stock opened at $262.94 on Thursday. General Dynamics Co. has a 12-month low of $239.87 and a 12-month high of $316.90. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average price is $257.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $280.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 41.64%.

General Dynamics declared that its board has approved a share 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 typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.