General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Holdings Raised by Capital Research Global Investors

Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,734,148 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 463,497 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors’ holdings in General Dynamics were worth $1,774,381,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays dropped their price objective on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of General Dynamics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $315.00 to $305.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price target on General Dynamics from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $294.47.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In related news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $275.70 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $239.20 and a fifty-two week 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. The company has a market cap of $73.99 billion, a PE ratio of 20.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $261.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $273.10.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. Analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.99%.

About General Dynamics

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.