General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Shares Bought by Thomasville National Bank

Thomasville National Bank increased its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 3.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 74,754 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 2,368 shares during the period. General Dynamics comprises about 1.5% of Thomasville National Bank's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Thomasville National Bank's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $20,376,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GD. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in General Dynamics by 34,578.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,244,600 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $339,253,000 after purchasing an additional 1,241,011 shares during the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $279,582,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $197,238,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in General Dynamics by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,780,078 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $6,265,813,000 after purchasing an additional 706,317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in General Dynamics by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,734,148 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,774,381,000 after purchasing an additional 463,497 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

GD stock traded up $3.02 during trading on Friday, hitting $282.95. The company had a trading volume of 1,649,124 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,387,727. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.46. The business has a 50 day moving average of $274.62 and a 200 day moving average of $266.52. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $239.20 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.43 by $0.23. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. The company had revenue of $12.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.88 EPS. General Dynamics's revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. General Dynamics's payout ratio is 41.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Securities boosted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $300.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $261.00 to $236.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $335.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $293.00.

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.