Hilton Capital Management LLC Has $4.80 Million Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Hilton Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) by 12.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,231 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 2,506 shares during the quarter. Hilton Capital Management LLC's holdings in General Dynamics were worth $4,804,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in General Dynamics by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,205,330 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $4,292,851,000 after buying an additional 109,618 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in General Dynamics by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,307,612,000 after buying an additional 943,247 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in General Dynamics by 2.5% in the 3rd 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 buying an additional 189,904 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in General Dynamics by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,674,998,000 after buying an additional 638,342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in General Dynamics by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,940,537 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,493,030,000 after buying an additional 24,464 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity at General Dynamics

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

General Dynamics Price Performance

NYSE:GD traded up $2.33 on Tuesday, hitting $267.51. The company had a trading volume of 1,569,347 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,236,020. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.61, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $258.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $278.54. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $239.87 and a 52 week high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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, research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. 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. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on GD shares. William Blair lowered shares of General Dynamics from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. BTIG Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $300.00 target price (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $297.71.

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.