Thomasville National Bank Buys 2,242 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Thomasville National Bank grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 72,386 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 2,242 shares during the period. General Dynamics accounts for approximately 1.4% of Thomasville National Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Thomasville National Bank’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $19,073,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GD. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 241.7% in the 3rd 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 General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised 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 worth $38,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on GD shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered General Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $283.00 to $245.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. TD Cowen raised shares of General Dynamics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $330.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $308.18.

General Dynamics Stock Up 1.4 %

General Dynamics stock traded up $3.74 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $263.12. 345,066 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,341,611. The business has a fifty day moving average of $276.54 and a 200 day moving average of $288.99. 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 has a market cap of $72.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.04, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a 12-month low of $247.36 and a 12-month high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.65 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 7.90%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.04 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 43.26%.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.