Northwest Bank & Trust Co Makes New Investment in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Northwest Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,567 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $926,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GD. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of GD traded down $0.74 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $291.78. 639,947 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 802,686. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $292.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $274.74. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $209.25 and a twelve month high of $302.42. The stock has a market cap of $80.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.89 by ($0.01). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 7.85%. The business had revenue of $10.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.64 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.55 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.33%.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In related news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total transaction of $14,182,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 768,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $218,773,956.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total transaction of $3,914,215.17. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 103,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,816,065.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total transaction of $14,182,325.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 768,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $218,773,956.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 118,486 shares of company stock worth $34,391,642 in the last 90 days. 1.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on GD shares. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $325.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $291.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $305.00 to $335.00 in a report on Monday, April 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $300.63.

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.