Hickory Point Bank & Trust Invests $692,000 in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Hickory Point Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,627 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $692,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GD. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 9.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $3,307,612,000 after buying an additional 943,247 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in General Dynamics by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,674,998,000 after buying an additional 638,342 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 117.0% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 858,600 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $259,469,000 after acquiring an additional 463,000 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in General Dynamics by 43.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 942,485 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $284,818,000 after acquiring an additional 283,972 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 2.5% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,829,662 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,366,124,000 after acquiring an additional 189,904 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Baird R W lowered General Dynamics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $296.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

General Dynamics Stock Up 4.8 %

GD stock traded up $12.14 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $262.94. The stock had a trading volume of 4,134,474 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,784,521. General Dynamics Co. has a one year low of $239.87 and a one year high of $316.90. The company's 50 day moving average is $257.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $280.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market capitalization of $71.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last released its 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. This is a positive change from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is presently 41.64%.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.