PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Sells 6,137 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 209,923 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 6,137 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $55,313,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GD. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the third quarter valued at about $71,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the third quarter valued at about $741,000. United Bank increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 4.0% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 5,776 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,746,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 0.5% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,450 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,554,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 13.7% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 57,108 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $17,258,000 after purchasing an additional 6,861 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were 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 directly owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.71.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GD opened at $271.82 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $257.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $279.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market cap of $73.49 billion, a PE ratio of 19.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $239.87 and a 1 year high of $316.90.

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

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. This is a boost 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 presently 41.64%.

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.