Cambridge Trust Co. Reduces Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Cambridge Trust Co. reduced its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,459 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 75 shares during the quarter. Cambridge Trust Co.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $379,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV lifted its position in General Dynamics by 32.0% in the 4th quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV now owns 1,650 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $415,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $290,000. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. bought a new position in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $217,000. Court Place Advisors LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $207,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in General Dynamics by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 20,731 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,383,000 after acquiring an additional 1,392 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,355 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.31, for a total value of $8,551,750.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 773,977 shares in the company, valued at $204,569,860.87. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,355 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.31, for a total value of $8,551,750.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 773,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,569,860.87. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark C. Roualet sold 73,330 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.75, for a total value of $19,414,117.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 149,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,502,023.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on General Dynamics from $253.00 to $284.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $301.00 to $333.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on General Dynamics from $291.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays boosted their target price on General Dynamics from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors lowered General Dynamics from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $296.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.80.

General Dynamics Price Performance

NYSE GD opened at $285.27 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $278.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $259.03. General Dynamics Co. has a 52-week low of $202.35 and a 52-week high of $296.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.68 by ($0.04). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.84% and a return on equity of 16.61%. The company had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.58 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be paid a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 47.25%.

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.