Park National Corp OH Sells 1,052 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Park National Corp OH trimmed its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 7.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,298 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,052 shares during the quarter. Park National Corp OH’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $3,240,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GD. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 241.7% during the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the third quarter worth $26,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics during the third quarter worth $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 385.2% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 131 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on GD. Barclays dropped their price objective on General Dynamics from $330.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Seaport Res Ptn cut General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of General Dynamics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price 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. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $331.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $311.29.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE GD opened at $259.51 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.32. The company has a market capitalization of $71.36 billion, a PE ratio of 19.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics Co. has a 52-week low of $247.36 and a 52-week high of $316.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $278.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $289.74.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.48 by ($0.13). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. The firm had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.04 EPS. General Dynamics’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.84 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.26%.

General Dynamics declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are 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.