Capital International Investors Boosts Stake in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 575,242 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 482 shares during the quarter. Capital International Investors owned about 0.21% of General Dynamics worth $151,570,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $197,238,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,780,078 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,265,813,000 after buying an additional 706,317 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 43.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 942,485 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $284,818,000 after acquiring an additional 283,972 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,428,644 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $639,923,000 after acquiring an additional 232,383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 125.3% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 351,429 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $92,598,000 after acquiring an additional 195,476 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the company’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 value of $7,499,895.82. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on GD shares. UBS Group decreased their target price on General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Vertical Research downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup reduced their target price on General Dynamics from $335.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, General Dynamics presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $294.47.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD opened at $275.70 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $261.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $272.88. General Dynamics Co. has a 52-week low of $239.20 and a 52-week high of $316.90. 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 company has a market capitalization of $73.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. Research analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. This is a boost 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 presently 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.