Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Acquires New Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 11,147 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,937,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GD. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Financial Perspectives Inc grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 195.0% in the 4th quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 118 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $246.24 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $66.57 billion, a PE ratio of 18.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $259.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $282.18. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $239.87 and a 1 year high of $316.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were given a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Baird R W cut General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 target price (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays decreased their price target on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $298.59.

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.