Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Has $864,000 Stock Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 27.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,278 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,222 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $864,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GD. United Bank increased its position in General Dynamics by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 5,776 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,746,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $115,000. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its position in General Dynamics by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 3,258 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $985,000 after acquiring an additional 534 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in General Dynamics by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 588,619 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $177,881,000 after acquiring an additional 5,069 shares during the period. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in General Dynamics by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,895 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,479,000 after acquiring an additional 684 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In related news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total transaction of $7,499,895.82. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly 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. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE GD opened at $260.21 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $70.35 billion, a PE ratio of 19.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. General Dynamics Co. has a 12-month low of $239.87 and a 12-month high of $316.90. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $257.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $279.30. 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 (NYSE:GD) last issued its 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, sell-side analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on GD. BTIG Research cut shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Vertical Research cut shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Baird R W cut shares of 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, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.71.

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.