Mechanics Bank Trust Department Increases Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Mechanics Bank Trust Department raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 11.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 781 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $206,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 1,482 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $448,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 22.8% during the third quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 178 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 10.6% in the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 354 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 1.6% in the third quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,223 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $672,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Jeppson Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 3.8% during the third quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC now owns 955 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Trading Down 0.7 %

GD opened at $266.86 on Tuesday. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $247.36 and a one year high of $316.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.32. The stock has a market cap of $73.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $272.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $288.21.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.65 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 7.90%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.04 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.81 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.26%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price target on General Dynamics from $330.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $330.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. TD Cowen upgraded General Dynamics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $304.53.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 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 this link. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.