General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Position Raised by Brandes Investment Partners LP

Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 51,635 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $13,605,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. United Bank grew its position in General Dynamics by 4.0% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 5,776 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,746,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC grew its position in General Dynamics by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its position in General Dynamics by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 7,930 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,396,000 after purchasing an additional 719 shares in the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners purchased a new position in General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $212,000. Finally, Intellectus Partners LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $695,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. BTIG Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $297.71.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In related news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.4 %

General Dynamics stock opened at $262.19 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $70.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. General Dynamics Co. has a fifty-two week low of $239.87 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $257.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $278.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be 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 is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 43.99%.

General Dynamics announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.