Korea Investment CORP Has $44.62 Million Holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Korea Investment CORP boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 41.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 169,353 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 49,467 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP owned 0.06% of General Dynamics worth $44,623,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $426,000. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 2,444 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $644,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $78,000. Momentous Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $353,000. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 8,314 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,191,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GD has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $297.71.

Insider Activity

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was 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 directly owns 45,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,297,195.12. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

GD opened at $269.60 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $258.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $277.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $72.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. General Dynamics Co. has a 12 month low of $239.87 and a 12 month high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, research analysts expect that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 43.99%.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.