Busey Bank Has $12.52 Million Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Busey Bank decreased its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 30.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. 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 filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Allen Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 1,635 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $431,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 1,319 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $348,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the period. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 30.9% in the 4th quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,109 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $292,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the period. Orca Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $894,000. Finally, Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 3,805 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,003,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on GD. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on General Dynamics from $295.00 to $279.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays cut their target price on General Dynamics from $330.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada downgraded General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $330.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $303.71.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

GD stock opened at $251.52 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $268.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $287.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $69.16 billion, a PE ratio of 19.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $247.01 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 return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 7.90%. As a group, research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.66 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics announced that its board has initiated 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 buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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 issued a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.26%.

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.