2,627 Shares in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Bought by Hickory Point Bank & Trust

Hickory Point Bank & Trust bought a new stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,627 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $692,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,689 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,553,000 after buying an additional 1,283 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 67.6% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,546 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,583,000 after buying an additional 3,448 shares during the last quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 36.4% in the third quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 15,000 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,533,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at about $607,000. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 10.0% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 37,074 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $11,204,000 after purchasing an additional 3,363 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GD opened at $252.87 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $258.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $281.09. General Dynamics Co. has a twelve month low of $239.87 and a twelve month high of $316.90. The company has a market cap of $68.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.54, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced 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 net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. Research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were given a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.64%.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on GD. Baird R W cut shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 target price (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Vertical Research cut General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics 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.