Mackenzie Financial Corp Increases Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 91,766 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 824 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $24,179,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Dynamics Price Performance

GD opened at $274.93 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $271.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $267.67. General Dynamics Co. has a 12-month low of $239.20 and a 12-month high of $316.90. 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 firm has a market cap of $73.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.16, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.49.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.43 by $0.23. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. The firm had revenue of $12.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.88 EPS. General Dynamics’s revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th were issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is 41.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Dynamics news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at $12,297,195.12. This represents a 37.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on GD. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $300.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. BTIG Research cut General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. TD Securities boosted their price objective on General Dynamics from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays cut their price objective on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price target on General Dynamics from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $293.00.

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.