Hilton Capital Management LLC Decreases Position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Hilton Capital Management LLC reduced its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 12.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,231 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 2,506 shares during the period. Hilton Capital Management LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $4,804,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GD. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Baird R W lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered 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, Vertical Research downgraded General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.71.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of GD opened at $260.87 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $257.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $279.18. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $239.87 and a 1-year high of $316.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.53 billion, a PE ratio of 19.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 EPS 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.99%.

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.