Heritage Trust Co Invests $267,000 in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Heritage Trust Co acquired a new stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,014 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $267,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of GD. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced 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. Robert W. Baird reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $283.00 target price (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Susquehanna increased their price target on General Dynamics from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $261.00 to $236.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, BTIG Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $294.47.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

GD stock traded down $0.93 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $275.70. 1,721,990 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,357,567. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.99 billion, a PE ratio of 20.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a 50-day moving average of $261.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $273.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $239.20 and a 52 week high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This is a boost from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.99%.

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 dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares of the company's stock, 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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were 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 $12,297,195.12. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company's stock.

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.