Hills Bank & Trust Co Trims Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Hills Bank & Trust Co reduced its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,660 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 41 shares during the period. Hills Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,729,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its stake in General Dynamics by 188.3% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 40,830 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $10,602,000 after purchasing an additional 26,668 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in General Dynamics by 99.3% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 29,045 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,542,000 after buying an additional 14,468 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $16,077,000. Clough Capital Partners L P purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,868,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 57.7% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 326,121 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $72,063,000 after purchasing an additional 119,264 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total transaction of $3,914,215.17. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 103,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,816,065.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Leon Rudy F. De sold 2,570 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.00, for a total value of $740,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,518 shares in the company, valued at $1,589,184. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total transaction of $3,914,215.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 103,345 shares in the company, valued at $29,816,065.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 65,987 shares of company stock valued at $18,836,700. 1.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on GD shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $253.00 to $284.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $280.00 to $298.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Argus increased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, StockNews.com cut General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $300.53.

General Dynamics Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:GD traded up $0.82 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $296.79. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 483,471 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,096,403. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market cap of $81.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $284.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $264.89. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $202.35 and a 1 year high of $297.79.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.89 by ($0.01). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 7.85%. The business had revenue of $10.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.55 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be paid a $1.42 dividend. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.33%.

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.