Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 1,222 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 27.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GD. United Bank increased its stake in General Dynamics by 4.0% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at $115,000. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its stake 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 buying an additional 534 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake 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 buying an additional 5,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake 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 buying an additional 684 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Susquehanna lowered their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $244.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. William Blair lowered shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered 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 research note on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total transaction of $7,499,895.82. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE GD opened at $260.21 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market capitalization of $70.35 billion, a P/E 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $257.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $279.30.

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 net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. Analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

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 issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 43.99%.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.