Independence Bank of Kentucky Buys 2,018 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 29.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,832 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,018 shares during the quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $2,327,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $4,292,851,000 after purchasing an additional 109,618 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 9.4% during the third 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 raised its position in General Dynamics by 2.5% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,829,662 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,366,124,000 after acquiring an additional 189,904 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 638,342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,940,537 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,493,030,000 after acquiring an additional 24,464 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Trading Up 0.1 %

GD stock opened at $257.17 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $70.71 billion, a PE ratio of 18.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $267.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $286.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.32. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $247.01 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 7.93%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 15.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on GD shares. Susquehanna lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Vertical Research downgraded General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $330.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $301.24.

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.