WASHINGTON TRUST Co Has $582,000 Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

WASHINGTON TRUST Co reduced its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,208 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 151 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $582,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 9,636 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,539,000 after acquiring an additional 1,091 shares in the last quarter. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at $288,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 843 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 48.9% in the 4th quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 29,705 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $7,827,000 after acquiring an additional 9,759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 87,676 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $23,334,000 after acquiring an additional 1,537 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’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 value of $459,201.28. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of GD opened at $241.98 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $65.42 billion, a PE 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. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $261.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $284.25. 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 (NYSE:GD) last announced its 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 return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. On average, analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.84 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were paid a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is 41.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on GD. Baird R W cut General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $298.59.

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.