Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Increases Position in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) by 9.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 74,269 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 6,698 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $20,244,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GD. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,885 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $760,000 after buying an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,476 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $389,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. CenterBook Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 136.0% during the fourth quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 3,526 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $929,000 after buying an additional 2,032 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $267,000. Finally, Manhattan West Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Manhattan West Asset Management LLC now owns 14,928 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,934,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on GD shares. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. TD Cowen increased their price target on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Wolfe Research raised General Dynamics from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $360.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $325.00 price target on General Dynamics and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price target on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $315.78.

General Dynamics Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $313.98 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.46 billion, a PE ratio of 21.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.48. General Dynamics Corporation has a twelve month low of $239.20 and a twelve month high of $322.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $294.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $275.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $13.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.13 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 8.13% and a return on equity of 17.99%. General Dynamics’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.26 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that General Dynamics Corporation will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 43,860 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.28, for a total value of $13,696,600.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,452,165. This represents a 52.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Leon Rudy F. De sold 5,490 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.81, for a total transaction of $1,717,326.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 5,483 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,715,137.23. The trade was a 50.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 268,370 shares of company stock worth $78,408,011. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.