General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Stock Position Lifted by UniSuper Management Pty Ltd

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 36.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,138 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,855 shares during the quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $4,779,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total transaction of $7,499,895.82. Following the transaction, 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. William Blair downgraded General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. BTIG Research cut General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on General Dynamics from $244.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. One research 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. According to MarketBeat, General Dynamics presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $297.71.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE:GD opened at $268.99 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $258.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $276.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.72, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $239.87 and a 1-year high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.99%.

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.