National Pension Service Acquires 8,417 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

National Pension Service boosted its position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 412,768 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,417 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $107,183,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GD. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in General Dynamics by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,360,526 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,615,185,000 after acquiring an additional 1,755,276 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in General Dynamics by 10,763.2% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 923,593 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $239,829,000 after purchasing an additional 915,091 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 55.2% in the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 806,917 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $178,304,000 after acquiring an additional 286,928 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,293,269 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $506,744,000 after purchasing an additional 275,947 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 12.7% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,763,878 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $392,110,000 after acquiring an additional 198,185 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GD traded up $2.58 during trading on Thursday, hitting $295.32. The company had a trading volume of 211,031 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,097,533. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $283.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $264.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.44. General Dynamics Co. has a 12 month low of $202.35 and a 12 month high of $296.50.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.89 by ($0.01). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 16.48%. The firm had revenue of $10.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.64 EPS. General Dynamics’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.55 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 46.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GD shares. StockNews.com lowered General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Alembic Global Advisors downgraded General Dynamics from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $296.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on General Dynamics from $291.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $286.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on General Dynamics from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $300.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total value of $14,182,325.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 768,977 shares in the company, valued at $218,773,956.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total transaction of $3,914,215.17. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 103,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,816,065.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total value of $14,182,325.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 768,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $218,773,956.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 65,987 shares of company stock worth $18,836,700. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.