Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 17.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 297,577 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 44,387 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.11% of General Dynamics worth $89,928,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 40,389.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,379,472 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $416,876,000 after purchasing an additional 1,376,065 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in General Dynamics by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,307,612,000 after buying an additional 943,247 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 13.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,674,998,000 after acquiring an additional 638,342 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 117.0% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 858,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $259,469,000 after acquiring an additional 463,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 2,189.3% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 374,207 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $108,572,000 after acquiring an additional 357,861 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Up 1.3 %

General Dynamics stock opened at $263.64 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.32. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $288.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $292.53. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $247.36 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90. The company has a market capitalization of $72.49 billion, a PE ratio of 20.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.59.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.48 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.65 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. General Dynamics’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.04 EPS. Research analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GD has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $330.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $331.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $322.00 to $295.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $283.00 to $245.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on General Dynamics from $309.00 to $306.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.88.

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.