Kentucky Trust Co Invests $607,000 in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 2,305 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $607,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 241.7% during the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on GD. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $283.00 price target (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $298.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Dynamics news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company'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 transaction of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE GD traded down $4.18 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $241.98. 2,762,958 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,659,087. General Dynamics Co. has a 12-month low of $239.87 and a 12-month high of $316.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $261.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $284.25. The firm has a market cap of $66.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.61.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share (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%. As a group, analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.84 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.64%.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program 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. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Company 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.