CHICAGO TRUST Co NA Purchases 250 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

CHICAGO TRUST Co NA lifted its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 15.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,916 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $505,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 241.7% in the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in General Dynamics by 385.2% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 131 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD opened at $263.73 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $72.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.09, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $247.36 and a twelve month 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $275.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $288.79.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.48 by ($0.13). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. The company had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.04 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 43.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on GD. 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 company from $330.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 target price (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. TD Cowen upgraded General Dynamics to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Vertical Research cut 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $330.00 to $315.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $308.18.

General Dynamics Company 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.