First National Trust Co Buys 12,994 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

First National Trust Co grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 140.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 22,235 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,994 shares during the quarter. First National Trust Co's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $5,859,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GD. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,689 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,553,000 after buying an additional 1,283 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 67.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,546 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,583,000 after buying an additional 3,448 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth $607,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 37,074 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $11,204,000 after buying an additional 3,363 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hickory Point Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth $692,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on GD. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective 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. Vertical Research downgraded General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. 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 report on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, William Blair cut General Dynamics from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $297.71.

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General Dynamics Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of GD stock traded up $2.33 on Tuesday, hitting $267.51. The company had a trading volume of 1,569,347 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,236,020. The firm has a market cap of $72.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The stock's 50-day moving average is $258.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $278.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $239.87 and a twelve month high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last released 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, equities research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. This is a boost from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.99%.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock 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 an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the 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 owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This represents 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 stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 currently owned by insiders.

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.