M&T Bank Corp Sells 1,036 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

M&T Bank Corp trimmed its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 52,320 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,036 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $13,786,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GD. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 3.8% in the third quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC now owns 955 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Community Bank N.A. raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 0.6% in the third quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 5,461 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,650,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 0.9% in the third quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,344 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,313,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Purus Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Purus Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,660 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $701,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 0.5% in the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,450 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,554,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GD has been the subject of several recent research reports. Susquehanna reduced their price target on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Vertical Research cut General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on General Dynamics from $276.00 to $244.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.71.

General Dynamics Price Performance

GD opened at $262.94 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $257.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $280.27. General Dynamics Co. has a 12-month low of $239.87 and a 12-month high of $316.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.28, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. Equities analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders 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 2.28%. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 41.64%.

General Dynamics declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.