General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Stock Holdings Reduced by New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC

New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC cut its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 15.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,145 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 206 shares during the period. New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $302,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,780,078 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,265,813,000 after buying an additional 706,317 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,734,148 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,774,381,000 after acquiring an additional 463,497 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,688,672 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,496,939,000 after purchasing an additional 131,268 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its position in General Dynamics by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 4,212,422 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,109,931,000 after purchasing an additional 33,962 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,428,644 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $639,923,000 after purchasing an additional 232,383 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Dynamics Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of GD opened at $272.03 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $263.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $272.30. 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 stock has a market cap of $73.01 billion, a PE ratio of 19.94, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $239.20 and a 1 year high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.43 by $0.23. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. The company had revenue of $12.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.92 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 41.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on GD shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $261.00 to $236.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Vertical Research cut General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group increased their target price on General Dynamics from $268.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, TD Securities raised their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, General Dynamics presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $293.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value 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. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Company 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.