Ledyard National Bank Purchases Shares of 725 General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Ledyard National Bank purchased a new stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 725 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 4,164,857 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,081,488,000 after purchasing an additional 147,800 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $728,284,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,282,757 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $592,764,000 after buying an additional 24,395 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,372,311 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $356,348,000 after purchasing an additional 40,689 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,371,123 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $356,040,000 after acquiring an additional 45,200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GD traded down $3.59 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $289.68. The stock had a trading volume of 299,091 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,047,407. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $213.47 and a fifty-two week high of $302.75. The company has a market capitalization of $79.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $293.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $280.76.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm posted $2.64 EPS. General Dynamics’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.33%.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total value of $14,182,325.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 768,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $218,773,956.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total value of $14,182,325.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 768,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $218,773,956.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kimberly A. Kuryea sold 13,344 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.16, for a total value of $3,978,647.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 79,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,630,670.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 118,486 shares of company stock valued at $34,391,642. 1.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on GD. StockNews.com lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on General Dynamics from $291.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $301.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $345.00 price objective on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $307.94.

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.