Busey Bank Sells 20,936 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Busey Bank lessened its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 30.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 47,532 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 20,936 shares during the period. Busey Bank’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $12,524,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Planning increased its position in General Dynamics by 4.6% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 45,042 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $13,068,000 after buying an additional 1,988 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its position in General Dynamics by 85.0% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 283 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the second quarter worth approximately $314,000. Founders Financial Alliance LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the second quarter worth approximately $222,000. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its position in General Dynamics by 11.6% during the second quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 55,551 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $16,118,000 after buying an additional 5,786 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 the company. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $330.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on General Dynamics from $295.00 to $279.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $303.71.

Insider Activity

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

General Dynamics Stock Down 4.2 %

NYSE GD opened at $251.52 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $268.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $287.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.80. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $247.01 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.16 billion, a PE ratio of 19.16, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.61.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. Equities analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 43.26%.

General Dynamics announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Company 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.